Beauty & the Beast
by americanhoney139
Summary: Elena Gilbert, also known as Belle, lives in the sleepy town of Mystic Falls with her older brother, an inventor named Jeremy. The girl has always been a lover of fantasy, but she never expected her life to turn into one! Could she be the one to save the misunderstood Beast from his curse or will he be trapped inside his castle, doomed to live alone? Book 4 of Princess Delena Story
1. Bonjour

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. But then, one winter's night, an old beggar woman came to the castle and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away. But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. And when he dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. The prince tried to apologize, but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart. And as punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast and placed a powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there.

Ashamed of his monstrous form, the beast concealed himself inside his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world. The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his 21st year. If he could learn to love another, and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. As the years passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope.

For who could ever learn to love a beast?

* * *

In a village not far from the Beast's castle, live a young man named Jeremy, an inventor, and his younger sister Elena, a dreamer. Elena loves to read and goes down town everyone day to borrow a book from the bookkeeper's shop. She grabs her most recent read and heads out the door.

"Jeremy, I'm going into town!" she calls down to the basement, where she can hear her brother tinkering away at yet another invention. 'Do you need anything?" The tinkering stops and footsteps echoes from the stairs before Jeremy's head pokes out from the basement door.

"Do 'ya think you could get some food for the pantry?" Jeremy asks, wiping dust from his hair.

"You forgot again, didn't you?" Elena laughs and shakes her head, picking out a piece of wood out of his dark brown hair. Jeremy just nods. "I'll make sure to pick up some stuff." He nods, kisses her cheek, and goes back downstairs to his invention.

Elena rolls her eyes as she shuts the door to the basement with a small smile and, tucking her book inside the basket on her arm, she makes her way to the town. "_Little town it's a quiet village_," Elena sings softly on her way toward the town. "_Every day like the one before; little town full of little people, waking up to say_…"

_[Man #1]_

_Bonjour!_

_[Man #2]_

_Bonjour!_

_[Woman #1]_

_Bonjour!_

_[Man #3]_

_Bonjour!_

_[Man #4]_

_Bonjour!_

_[Elena]_

_There goes the baker with his tray like always._

_The same old bread and rolls to sell._

_Every morning just the same since the morning that we came,_

_To this poor provincial town._

_[Baker]_

_Good Morning Elena!_

_[Elena]_

_G'morning Monsieur!_

_[Baker]_

_Where you off to?_

_[Elena]_

_The book shop..._

_I just finished the most wonderful story,_

_About a beanstalk and an ogre and a..._

_[Baker]_

_That's nice. Marie! The baguettes! Hurry up!_

_[Group of Women]_

_Look there she goes that girl is strange no question._

_Dazed and distracted, can't you tell?_

_[Woman #1]_

_Never part of any crowd._

_[Man #3]_

_'Cause her head's up on some cloud_

_[Villagers]_

_No denying she's a funny girl that Elena._

_[Man #1]_

_Bonjour!_

_[Woman #1]_

_Good day!_

_[Man #1]_

_How is your family?_

_[Woman #1]_

_Bonjour!_

_[Man #4]_

_Good day!_

_[Woman #1]_

_How is your wife?_

_[Woman #2]_

_I need six eggs!_

_[Man #2]_

_That's too expensive._

_[Elena]_

_There must be more than this provincial life._

Elena walks into the bookshop, ignoring the voices whispering about her in the streets. She smiles at the old man sitting at the desk. Books line the shelves and it smells old and musty, but to Elena it smells like home away from home. The old man looks up and smiles warmly at her, coming out from behind his desk to shake her hand.

"_Ah! Elena_!" he hugs her, reminding her of a grandfather. She giggles and hugs him back.

"_Good morning_, Elijah," she replies, a huge smile on her face. "_I've come to return the book I've borrowed_!" She pulls the book out of her basket and waves it at him.

"_Finished already_?" the old man asks as he takes the book from her hands.

"_Oh I couldn't put it down_," she rubs the binding as if comforting an old friend. "_Got anything new_?"

"_Not since yesterday_," Elijah shakes his head as he watches the young woman lightly tracing the spines of several books on one of the moveable ladders.

"_That's alright_," the brunette smiles down at the old man, "_I'll borrow...this one_!"

"_That one_?!" Elijah blinks, shock emanating from him. "_But you've read it twice_!"

"_Well it's my favorite_," Elena's eyes grow misty as a soft smile appears on her face. "_Far off places, daring swordfights, magic spells, a prince in disguise_!"

"_Well if you like it all that much, it's yours_," Elijah chuckles at the young woman he has come to love as a granddaughter, one who shares his passion for reading and adventure between the pages.

"_But sir_!" Elena cries, shaking her head as she tries to pass the book back to him.

"_I insist_," the old man pushes it back toward her, a reassuring look in his eyes.

"_Well thank you_," Elena's smile seems as if it can't get any brighter. "_Thank you very much_!" Elena hugs him before walking out of the shop and back into the fray of people.

_[Group Of Men]_

_Look there she goes that girl is so peculiar. I wonder if she's feeling well._

_[Group Of Women]_

_With a dreamy far off look._

_[Group Of Men]_

_And her nose stuck in a book._

_[Villigers]_

_What a puzzle to the rest of us is Elena_

Elena picks up some lunch for herself at the grocers and settles herself against the fountain. A flock of sheep, tended by a young man named Matt, come over to look at her as if they find her strange too. Matt is eating his lunch on the other side of the fountain, but he tips his hat at her in greeting.

"_Oh! Isn't this amazing_?" Elena sings to the sheep, which look over her shoulder at the book. She points to the picture. "_It's my favorite because you'll see._" She smiles as she turns the page and points to yet another picture. "_Here's where she meets prince charming. But she won't discover that it's him till chapter three._"

_[Woman #3]_

_Now it's no wonder that her name means beauty, her looks have got no parallel._

_[Man #1]_

_But behind that fair facade, I'm afraid she's rather odd._

_Very different from the rest of us._

_[Villigers]_

_She's nothing like the rest of us. Yes different from the rest of us is Elena._

There's a sound like a gunshot and a duck falls from the sky, landing in the arms of a stocky man. "_Wow! You didn't miss a shot Stefan! You're the greatest hunter in the whole world_." He turns to the blond haired, green eyed man as he comes over with his gun across one shoulder.

"_I know_," Stefan nods, a smug smile on his face.

"_No beast alive stands a chance against you_," Tyler sucks up to the most popular man in town, "_and no girl for that matter_."

"_It's true Tyler_," Stefan puffs out his chest. "_And I've got my sights set on the one_."

"_The inventor's daughter_?!" Tyler's eyes bug out of his head as he looks from the brunette in the distance to his friend.

"_She's the one! The lucky girl I'm going to marry_!"

"_But she's_..."

"_The most beautiful girl in town. That makes her the best! And don't I deserve the best_!?"

"_Well of course, I mean you do, but_..."

"_Right from the moment when I met her, saw her, I said she's gorgeous and I fell...here in town there's only she, who is beautiful as me. So I'm making plans to woo and marry Elena_."

_[Stefan Groupies]_

_Look there he goes, isn't he dreamy? Monsieur Stefan, oh he's so cute!_

_Be still my heart, I'm hardly breathing. He's such a strong, tall, dark, and handsome brute._

_[Woman #1]_

_Bonjour!_

_[Stefan]_

_Pardon_

_[Elena]_

_Good day_

_[Woman #2]_

_Mais oui!_

_[Woman #3]_

_You call this bacon?_

_[Woman #4]_

_What lovely grapes!_

_[Man #1]_

_Some cheese_

_[Woman #5]_

_Ten yards!_

_[Man #1]_

_One pound_

_[Stefan]_

_'scuse me!_

_[Cheese Merchant]_

_I'll get the knife_

_[Stefan]_

_Please let me through!_

_[Woman #6]_

_This bread -_

_[Woman #7]_

_Those fish -_

_[Woman #6]_

_It's stale!_

_[Woman #7]_

_They smell!_

_[Men]_

_Madame's mistaken._

_[Women]_

_Well, maybe so_

_[Townsfolk]_

_Good morning!_

_Oh, good morning!_

_[Elena]_

_There must be more than this provincial life!_

_[Stefan]_

_Just watch, I'm going to make Elena my wife!_

_[Townsfolk]_

_Look there she goes_

_The girl is strange but special_

_A most peculiar mademoiselle!_

_[Women]_

_It's a pity and a sin_

_[Men]_

_She doesn't quite fit in_

_[Townsfolk]_

_'Cause she really is a funny girl_

_A beauty but a funny girl_

_She really is a funny girl_

_That Elena!_

Elena almost jumps out of her skin when Stefan jumps in front of her. She clutches her book to her chest and almost lets out an unladylike growl. "Hello, Elena," Stefan purrs.

"Stefan, I'm not in the mood," Elena rolls her eyes and tries to push past him, her eyes not leaving her book. When Stefan realizes that the book in her arms is getting more attention than he is, the blond pulls the book from her hands, ignoring her cry of outrage. "Please give me my book back, Stefan," she reaches out for it.

"How can you read this?" Stefan asks, tilting the book this way and that. "It has no pictures." He flips carelessly through the pages.

"It's called imagination!" Elena points out, frustrated with the vile man playing with her new book. He smirks at her before he tosses the book into the nearest mud puddle. Elena cries out at the mistreatment of her book.

"Oh, Belle," Stefan uses the nickname the town has given her because of her beauty, "my sweet, sweet Belle." He shakes his head. "It's not right for a woman to read. Soon she starts getting _ideas_, and _thinking_..." She snarls at him, hating the way he demeans women everywhere. All she wants to do is smack that smirk off of his face, but he is, unfortunately, stronger than her. While he may have brawn, he seriously lacks in the brain department, something Elena looks for in a man.

"Stefan, you are positively primeval!" Elena scoffs, picking up her mud soaked book and trying to wipe as much off as she can with the skirt of her dress.

"Why thank you, Belle," Stefan smirks at her as she shakes her head. "What would you say if you and I took a walk over to the tavern and took a look at my trophies?"

"Maybe some other time," Elena responds kindly before she runs off, as far away from him as she can. Suddenly, once she is close enough, she sees a cloud of smoke and an explosion coming from her house. She knows her brother is up to something, so she runs as fast as she can back home to help him.

**The first chapter of Beauty and the Beast, yay! Sorry it's more of the song than the story line, but I don't want to ignore the songs... that would just make it boring. In this story, everyone is human (except Damon, of course!), so Stefan and Tyler are humans. Jeremy is her older brother and Elijah is the old bookkeeper! I just had to add Matt in there somewhere because I feel like he's getting left out of my stories. Don't worry though, more of your favorite characters are going to make an appearance in the upcoming chapter. Can anyone guess who Klaus is?**** Please don't forget to review and tell me your thoughts.  
**


	2. The Castle

Elena hurries as fast as she can back to the cottage. The basement exudes smoke and Elena shakes her head as she makes her way down. After putting her basket at the edge of the stairs, the brunette hurries down the stairs to find her older brother.

"Jeremy?" she calls out to him, waving smoke from her face.

His head pops up from the rubble and she chuckles at all of the small wood chips in his hair. "How on earth did that happen? Dog gonnit!"

"Are you all right, Jeremy?"

"I'm about ready to give up on this hunk of junk!" Jeremy kicks the machine, which groans under his kick.

"You always say that," Elena shakes her head at her brother, a small smile on her face as she hugs him.

"I mean it, this time," Jeremy sighs as he pulls away from his sister. "I'll never get this boneheaded contraption to work" The brunette rolls her eyes at her brother's pout and begins to pick rubble from his hair.

"Yes, you will," Elena nods, smiling widely. "And you'll win first prize at the fair tomorrow." Jeremy crosses his arms again and continues to pout, huffing. "...and become a world famous inventor!"

"You really believe that?"

"I always have."

"Well, what are we waiting for? I'll have this thing fixed in no time." After the two manage to clean up the remains of some part of the invention, Elena comes down with her book while Jeremy starts working on his invention again, sliding under the machine. "Hand me that dog-legged clencher there...," Jeremy points to the toolbox beside her. She reaches inside and passes him the tool before going back to her book. A few minutes later, Jeremy speaks again, "So, did you have a good time in town today?"

"I got a new book," Elena begins before she puts the book down and sighs. "Jer, do you think I'm… _odd_?"

"My sister? Odd?" he looks up, appearing from under machine with a bizarre goggle contraption on his head distorting his eyes He shakes his head. "Where would you get an idea like that?"

"Oh, I don't know," Elena shrugs. "It's just I'm not sure I fit in here. There's no one I can really talk to."

"What about that Stefan? He's a handsome fellow!" Jeremy asks, although he can suspect what his sister is going to say.

"He's handsome all right, and rude and conceited and…," Elena shakes her head. "Oh Jeremy, he's not for me!" Her voice is filled with passion and Jeremy can see their late mother in her as she sits back down with a sigh.

"Well, don't you worry, 'cause this invention's going to be the start of a new life for us," Jeremy reassures her as he tinkers with the invention. He comes out from under the machine. "I think that's done it. Now, let's give it a try." He stands up and walks over to his sister, pulling her into a hug before both stare at the machine in front of him. "I think it should be good now." He nods his head. "Let's try it."

He presses Elena behind him, but the brunette looks over his shoulder at the invention, which starts cutting up wood and throwing it into a small neat pile against the wall.

"It works!" Elena exclaims joyfully.

"It does? It does!" Jeremy blinks.

"You did it! You really did it!" Elena hugs her brother lightly.

Jeremy blinks, as if he can't believe it. "Hitch up Phillipe, girl. I'm off to the fair!" The young man smiles at his sister before he picks her up and spins her around. She squeals and holds onto his shoulders, feeling like a little girl again. "Then you know what this means!" Elena helps him pull the invention up from the basement and attach it to their horse with a smile on her face.

* * *

"Good bye, Jeremy!" Elena waves from the porch of the house. "Good luck!"

"Good bye, Elena, and take care while I'm gone!" Jeremy shouts back. Jeremy and Phillipe continue on their journey until they become lost. The sun is beginning to set and soon the forest becomes dark. It is hard for both animal and human to see farther than the nearest tree.

"We should be there by now," Jeremy looks at the weathered map in his hand. "Maybe we missed a turn. I guess I should have taken a...wait a minute." He lifts lantern in his hand to illuminate a sign giving directions to Fell's Church and Atlanta. "Let's go this way!" Phillipe looks right, at a dark, overgrown path, then left towards a more inviting route. He begins to turn to the left, the safer path.

"Come on, Phillipe!" Jeremy pulls the reign to make him go right. "It's a shortcut. We'll be there in no time!" Phillipe and Jeremy continue through the dark. Suddenly, Jeremy looks down at his map. "This can't be right. Where have you taken us, Phillipe? We'd better turn around...and...whoa...whoa boy, whoa Phillipe. Oh, oh! Look out!" A swarm of bats fly out of a tree. Phillipe runs through the forest avoiding everything until he almost runs over the edge of a cliff.

"Back up! Back up! Back up! Good boy, good boy. That's good, that's-back up! Steady. Steady! Hey now. Steady." Jeremy is rambling so much that Phillipe, who is scared out of his mind, bucks him off. "Phillipe!" Phillipe runs away, leaving Jeremy on the edge of the cliff. "Phillipe? Oh no!" He looks up and sees a pack of wolves growling at him. Jeremy runs away, being chased by the wolves. He stumbles down a hill, and lands at the gate of a castle. He grabs the locked gate and tries to shake it open.

"Help! Is someone there?" he calls out, shaking the gate roughly. The gate opens, and Jeremy runs in. He slams the gate in the faces of the wolves. Leaving his hat on the ground as the rain begins to fall, Jeremy runs to the castle and bangs on the door. It creaks open and he enters, cautiously.

"Hello?" he calls, his voice shaking slightly. "Hello?"

Unbeknownst to him, watching from a table near the entrance are Jenna, a female candlestick, and Alaric, a stand-alone grandfather clock. "Old fellow must have lost his way in the woods," Jenna says in barely a whisper. The noise echoes off of the stone.

"Keep quiet!" Alaric hisses. "Maybe he'll go away."

"Is someone there?" Jeremy calls, his voice shaking from fear and the cold.

"Not a word, Jenna," Alaric hisses again. "Not one word!"

"I don't mean to intrude," Jeremy shouts, "but I've lost my horse and I need a place to stay for the night." He wraps his traveling cloak tighter around himself, even though it is soaked through with water.

Jenna looks at Alaric like a child having just found a lost puppy. Even though she is a candlestick, she can still manipulate the man just like she could as a human. "Oh Alaric, have a heart," she chastises him.

"Shush shush shhhhh!" Alaric puts his hand over Jenna's mouth, who promptly proceeds to touch her lit candle hand to Alaric's hand. "Ow ow Ow OW OW OUCH!" He waves his smoking metal hand around, blowing on it to cool it off.

"Of course, monsieur, you are welcome here," Jenna speaks up from her place on the table.

Jeremy looks around in confusion. "Who said that?" He picks up the candlestick for light, not realizing that the speaker is in his hand.

Jenna taps him on the shoulder. " Over here!"

Jeremy spins around, pulling Jenna to the other side. "Where?"

Jenna taps Jeremy on the side of the head. Jeremy looks at Jenna. "'Allo!" Jenna smiles at him.

"Oh!" Startled, he drops Jenna onto the floor. "Incredible!" he breathes, blinking down at the candlestick.

Alaric hops over. "Well, now you've done it, Jenna. Splendid, just peachy—aaarrrgghh!" Jeremy picks up Alaric.

"How is this accomplished?" He fiddles with Alaric, the inventor in him curious.

"Put me down! At once!" Alaric cries. Jeremy tickles the bottoms of Alaric's feet. He laughs. He begins to wind the spring on the back of Alaric's head, twisting his face around with the clock hands. Jeremy opens the front of Alaric and begins to play with his pendulum. Alaric slams the door shut on his finger. "Sir, close that at once, do you mind!"

"I beg your pardon, it's just that I've never seen a clock that...aah...i mean...aah aah aah-chooo!" Jeremy sneezes in Alaric's face, who proceeds to wipe his face off using his clock hands in a very anachronistic windshield wiper manner. Jeremy sniffles, indicating the cold he has caught from being in the rain.

"Oh, you are soaked to the bone, monsieur," Jenna's voice is soft as she speaks to the young man. "Come, warm yourself by the fire."

"Thank you," Jeremy nods his head. Jenna and Jeremy head towards the den, with Alaric running after them.

"No, no, no, do you know what the master would do if he finds you here," Alaric tries to get them to stop, worried about the young man's safety if their master ever finds him here. What he doesn't know is that the the beast is watching the action from an overhead walkway, and rushes off as the trio enters the den. "I demand that you stop...right...there!" Alaric tumbles down the steps. Jeremy takes a seat in a large chair in front of a roaring fire. "Oh no, not the master's chair!" A footstool rushes past Alaric barking up a storm. "I'm not seeing this, I'm not seeing this!"

Jeremy smiles as the footstool, which sounds like a dog, rushes up to him. "Well, hello there, boy," the young man chuckles. Footstool props himself up under the feet of Jeremy. Coatrack enters and removes his cloak. "What service!"

"All right, this has gone far enough. I'm in charge here, and—" Alaric is run over mid-rant by the, once again, anachronistic IndyCar sounding teacart of Rebekah.

Rebekah stops the cart right by Jeremy's side. "How would you like a nice spot of tea, sir?" she asks in a British accent. "It'll warm you up in no time." She pours tea into a small mug, which hops over into Jeremy's open hand.

Alaric, from face down position on carpet, cries, "No! No tea, no tea!" but it is muffled.

AAs Jeremy sips the tea, the mug begins to speak. "Ha ha! His moustache tickles, Bekah!"

Startled by the cup, Jeremy almost drops the poor thing. "Oh! Hello!"

Suddenly, the door to the den slams open and a strong gust of wind blows into the room, extinguishing Jenna's flames and the fire in the fireplace. Alaric dives for cover under the nearest carpet. Rebekah begins to shake. Klaus jumps back onto the tea cart and takes refuge from behind his older sister. "Uh oh!" Klaus whispers before his sister shushes him.

A shadow enters the room. Once he comes into the light, Jeremy sees the master, mentioned by the objects, in full for the first time. He is on all fours. He looks around in the darkness.

"There's a stranger here," the beast growls his words.

Jenna relights her flames. "Master, allow me to explain. The gentleman was lost in the woods and he was cold and wet..." Jenna's last sentence is drowned out by the very loud growl of the beast, which puts out her flames once again. Jenna looks down, dejected.

Alaric comes out from under a rug. "Master, I'd like to take this moment to say...I was against this from the start. I tried to stop them, but would they listen to me? No, no, no!" Again, the beast's growl drowns out Alaric. Jeremy looks to one side of the chair, then to the other and sees the beast.

The beast growls again. "Who are you?! What are you doing here?"

Jeremy is very scared and backs away from the advancing beast. "I was lost in the woods and..." he stops and stares at the beast.

Advancing on him, the beast snarls, "You are not welcome here!"

"I'm sorry," Jeremy stutters, blinking up at the monster before him.

"What are you staring at?" he snarls again.

Jeremy cowers under the beast. "Noth-north-nothing!" he stutters as he turns to leave.

The beast races around and blocks the entrance with surprising speed. "So, you've come to stare at the beast, have you?" he growls loudly, almost shouting. His sharp teeth glisten in the moonlight. "Please, I meant no harm! I just needed a place to stay."

"I'll give you a place to stay!" the beast snarls, again before he picks up Jeremy and carries him out of the room. The door slams behind him, plunging the den, along with Alaric, Jenna, Rebekah, and Klaus into darkness.

**So this is the second chapter. Just like in the movie, I'm not going to reveal the Beast's name until the end of the story when he transforms back into a human (although we all know who it is). So, who else likes Klaus as Chip? He and Rebekah are siblings because it would be weird as anything else. Let's just say that Rebekah is much older than Klaus in this story. Please don't forget to review! I've only gotten one so far.**


	3. A Failed Proposal

The rising sun shines down the next morning and the air is clear. It is a beautiful day. Outside of Elena's house, Stefan and Tyler stand looking at the door.

"Heh! Oh boy! Elena's gonna get the surprise of her life, huh Stefan," Tyler's smile is eager as he watches his friend.

"Yep," the blond claps his hands together. "This is her lucky day!"

Stefan lets go of a branch, which swings back and hits Tyler in the mouth. Stefan turns to the band, wedding guests and others, apparently just out of sight of Elena's cottage.

"I'd like to thank you all for coming to my wedding," he smiles, chuckling softly, "but first, I better go in there and... propose to the girl!" The minster, baker, and others laugh heartily. Some of Stefan's admirers are crying their eyes out from their place in the wedding crowd. Stefan turns to Tyler, "Now, you Tyler. When Elena and I come out that door—"

Tyler cuts him off. "Oh I know, I know!" He turns and begins directing the band in "Here Comes the Bride." Stefan slams a baritone over his head.

"Not yet!" Stefan hisses.

From inside the instrument, with his lips sticking out the mouthpiece speaks. "Sorry!"

Inside the cottage, Elena is sitting in a chair reading her new book when there's a knock at the door. She puts the book down and walks to the door. She reaches up and pulls down a viewing device. She peeks through and sees an anachronistically accurate fish-eye view of Stefan. She groans, and pushes the door open. "Stefan, what a pleasant," she pauses for the right words, "...surprise."

"Isn't it though? I'm just full of surprises," Stefan chuckles and pushes past the smaller brunette, who shakes her head and makes a face behind his back. "You know, Elena. There's not a girl in town who wouldn't love to be in your shoes. This is the day..." Elena watches is disgust as Stefan pauses by a mirror and licks his teeth clean, "this is the day your dreams come true."

"What do you know about my dreams, Stefan?" Elena crosses her arms over her chest, glaring at him.

"Plenty," Stefan speaks as if he knows everything. "Here, picture this," Stefan plops down in the chair and props his mud-covered feet up on Elena's book. He begins to kick off his boots and wiggle his toes through his hole-y socks. "A rustic hunting lodge, my latest kill roasting on the fire, and my little wife, massaging my feet, while the little ones play with the dogs." Elena looks positively disgusted. Stefan gets up next to her face. "We'll have six or seven."

"Dogs?"

"No, Elena," Stefan shakes his head as if he finds her 'joke' funny. "Strapping boys, like me!"

"Imagine that," Elena rolls her eyes, a sigh slipping past her lips as she picks up her book. She places a bookmark in it, and puts it on the shelf.

"And do you know who that wife will be?" Stefan questions, standing up.

"Let me think," Elena tilts her head to the side, a teasing smirk on her face. Of course she knows who it is, and she also know that the 'wife' isn't thinking the same thing he is.

Stefan corners Elena, backing her up until she's pressed against the back wall. "You, Elena!"

Elena ducks under Stefan's arms. "Stefan, I'm speechless," she pretends to be surprised. "I really don't know what to say."

Pushing chairs and things out of the way until he reaches Elena, Stefan traps the brunette against the door, his green eyes sparkling with sick delight. "Say you'll marry me."

Elena reaches behind her for the doorknob. "I'm very sorry, Stefan, but I just don't deserve you," she says as she twists the knob and the door opens, this time outward. Elena ducks under Stefan as he tumbles out the door and into the mud. Behind him, the wedding band begins to play "Here Comes the Bride." Stefan's boots are thrown out of the door, now opened inward, and the door is slammed shut.

Tyler, who is directing the band, looks down and sees Stefan's legs sticking out of the mud, and a pig's head sticking up. Tyler cuts off the band, and Stefan's head pops up, with the pig on top of him. He tilts his head, and the pig slides down his back.

"So, how'd it go?" Tyler, in all of his ignorance, asks.

Stefan picks up Tyler by the neck and snarls, "I'll have Elena for my wife, make no mistake about that!" Stefan drops Tyler into the mud.

"Touchy!" Tyler shakes his head at the pig, who grunts back at him. Stefan walks off, dejected, followed by the rest of his wedding crowd.

* * *

Elena pokes her head out the door and shakes her head. She walks out the door with a pail of feed for the animals on the farm. "Is he gone? Can you imagine, he asked me to marry him? Me, the wife of that boorish, brainless..." She shakes her head and throws the feed at the ground, watching as the chickens race after it.

"_Madame Stefan, can't you just see it? Madame Stefan, his little wife_," she shakes her head again and exits the barn, a new spring in her step. "N_o sir, not me, I guarantee it. I want much more than this provincial life_..."

Elena runs off singing into an open field behind the house, where she stops at a cliff overlooking a beautiful valley. She spins around, the wind whipping her hair around her face. "_I want adventure in the great wide somewhere; I want it more than I can tell_…" she slows down and picks up a puff flower, pressing the tufts together in her hand as she sings slowly. "_And for once it might be grand to have someone understand I want so much more than they've got planned_…"

Suddenly, Phillipe runs into the open field. Elena looks at him, disturbed that her brother is not with him. "Phillipe! What are you doing here? Where's Jeremy? Where is he, Phillipe? What happened?" she steadies the frightened horse, pressing her face to his cheek softly. Although there are tears in her eyes, she cares for her horse. She shakes her head and rushes inside the grab her traveling cloak before unhitching the wagon from his saddle. Mounting the hose, she presses him on. "Oh, we have to find him, you have to take me to him!"

**Oh no, Jeremy's gotten captured by the Beast. Next we see Elena in the castle... **

**P.S. Who else liked Klaus as Chip last chapter? He's only gonna get cuter!**


	4. A Promise

Elena pulls on the golden horse's reigns , slowing him down as they approach the massive castle. How Phillipe brought El e na there is a mystery, seeing as Phill ip e never made it to the castle with Je rem y, even if Elena doesn't know that. "Wha t is this place?" Elena whispers to hers elf. Phillipe snorts, then begins to buc k as if something is scaring him. Elena dismounts and comforts him, rubbi ng a so othing hand over his nose. "Phil lipe, pl ease, steady." She enters the g ate and s ees Jeremy's hat on the ground .) "Jeremy ," she cries as races to the front door.

Inside the castle, Alaric and Jenna are arguing about what happened with the hum an.

"Couldn't keep quiet, could we. Just had to invite him to stay, didn't we?" Alar ic rolls his eyes at the candlestick, w h o just watches the clock pace. "Serve hi m tea, sit in the master's chair, pet th e pooch.

"I was trying to be hospitable," Jenna r etorts, throwing her candlestick hands i n the air.

At the door of the castle, Elena pushes open the heavy wood and peeks inside, sc anning the area for any dangers. "Hello ? Is anyone here?" Elena calls, hoping h e r brother is somewhere in the castle. "H ello? Jeremy? Jeremy, are you here?" Ele na finds an ascending grand staircas e an d follows her instinct in search of her brother.

In the kitchen of the castle, Rebekah is standing next to a tub of hot water. Kl aus hops in with a scowl on his face. " B ekah. There's a girl in the castle!" h e exclaims happily, a wide smile on his fa ce.

"Now, Klaus, I won't have you making up such wild stories," Rebekah scolds her y ounger brother, shooting him a pointed g lare.

"But really, Bekah, I saw her," Klaus re torts.

"Not another word." Disgusted, Rebekah s hakes her nose at him, her spout moving from side to side. "Into the tub." She l ifts Klaus into the tub. A feather dus te r comes into the room with a huge smi le on her face.

"A girl!" the feather duster exclaims, " I saw a girl in the castle!"

Klaus pokes his head out from the water and smiles at the tea kettle. "See, I to ld ya!"

Alaric and Jenna are still bickering in the great room of the castle. "Irrespons ible, devil-may-care, waxy eared, slack - jawed—" Alaric rants, pacing back and fo rth before the fire.

Elena, down the hall, calls out, "Jeremy ?" again.

Alaric and Jenna turn to look at the new arrival, eyes wide with shock. "Did you see that?" she whispers as she runs to the door and pokes her head around the c orner with Alaric. "It's a girl!"

"I know it's a girl," the clock rolls hi s eyes at the eager candlestick.

"Don't you see? She's the one," Jenna bo unces up and down on her candlestick fo o t. "The girl we have been waiting for. " Jenna gasps. "She has come to break th e spell!" She leaves Alaric to chase aft er her.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" Alaric c ries as he races after the candlestick. 

Elena advances down a narrow hallway. Al aric and Jenna sneak up behind her and o pen the door that leads to the tower w he re Jeremy is being kept. The door cre aks open and Elena hears the sound.

"Jeremy? Jeremy?" she calls again, her h eart beating out a rhythm in her chest. Alaric hides behind the door and Jenna r ushes off. "Hello? Is someone here?" E le na can see a light moving up ahead an d c hases after it. "Wait! I'm looking f or m y brother!" She begins up the stair s, bu t doesn't realize that Jenna is wa tching her. "That's funny," she looks ar ound, picking up a torch to continue up the st airs, where it is dark, "I'm sure there was someone..." She opens the doo r to a cold room and peeks inside. "I-I- Is ther e anyone here?"

Jeremy's voice echoes from his cell insi de the room. "Elena?"

Elena rushes up to the cell to find him. "Oh, Jeremy!"

"How did you find me?" Jeremy asks, reac hing through the bars to grasp her hand s .

Elena puts her cheeks against his hands, trying to warm them up. "Oh, your hands are like ice. We have to get you out of here."

"Elena," Jeremy says in a stern tone of voice. "I want you to leave this place." His lips look almost blue and his once olive skin tone is tan. His whole body s eems to sag, and he coughs violently.

"Who's done this to you?" Elena asks; wo rry filling her voice as she watches Je r emy go off into a coughing fit, his wh ol e body trembling.

"No time to explain," Jeremy says betwee n coughs. "You must go...now!"

Elena shakes her head, brown wisps of ha ir falling from her bun. "I won't leave you!" she cries.

Suddenly, the Beast grabs Elena's should er and whips her around. She drops the t orch she was carrying into a puddle an d the room is dark except for one beam o f light from a skylight. All she can see i s someone, or something, in the shado ws of the room.

"What are you doing here?" the Beast sna rls.

"Run, Elena!" Jeremy pushes her away fro m his door, shaking his head in the dar k ness.

"Who's there?" Elena calls, raising her chin to show she isn't afraid. "Who are you?"

"The master of this castle," the beast g rowls.

"I've come for my brother," Elena states , "please let him out! Can't you see he ' s sick?"

"Then he shouldn't have trespassed here, " the beast retorts angrily.

"But he could die," she whimpers. "Pleas e, I'll do anything!"

"There's nothing you can do," the beast sneers, "he's my prisoner."

Elena bites her lip. "Oh, there must be some way I can..." she pauses, her eyebr ows furrow for a second. Suddenly, her e yes widen as she decides something. "W ai t! Take me, instead!"

"You!" the beast roars before he pauses to think. "You would take his place?" he sounds almost… in awe of her bravery.

"Elena! No!" Jeremy cries out from behin d her before coughing again. "You don't know what you're doing!"

"If I did," she almost whispers, but her voice doesn't quiver, "would you let hi m go?"

"Yes," the beast nods, "but you must pro mise to stay here _forever_."

Elena ponders the situation and realizes she can't see the captor. She moves sli ghtly forward on her feet before squint i ng. "Come into the light," she asks. B ea st drags his legs, then his whole bod y i nto the beam of light. Elena looks, her eyes growing wider until she can sta nd n o more and falls back to Jeremy.

"No, Elena," Jeremy screams, "I won't le t you do this!"

Elena regains her composure, then steps into the beam of light, giving her a ver y virgin-ish look. "You have my word. S h e tilts her head bravely, chin raised to cover her fear.

"Done!" the beast says quickly. The beas t moves over to unlock the cell, and El e na collapses to the floor with her hea d in her hands. We hear the door being u nl ocked, then Jeremy rushing over to El ena .

"No, Elena. Listen to me," he puts his h ands on her shoulders, trying to shake t he idea out of her. "I'm older; I've l iv ed my life—" The beast grabs him and dra gs him downstairs.

"Wait!" Elena cries, reaching out for hi m.

"Elena!" Jeremy screams as the beast pul ls him away.

"Wait!" Elena calls again, but the beast ignores her cries and keeps walking.

Outside the castle, the beast drags Jere my toward a black palanquin.

"No, please spare my sister!" Jeremy tri es to reason with the monster before hi m .

"She's no longer your concern," the beas t snarls before he throws Jeremy into t h e palanquin. "Take him to the village. " The palanquin breaks the ivy holding i t to the ground, then slinks off like a sp ider with Jeremy inside.

"Please, let me out, please!" Jeremy sho uts as his walking cage waddles off to t he village.

Elena looks out cell window at the palan quin crossing the bridge over the moat, her eyes glazes with tears. She begins t o cry. The beast walks up the stairs. Je nna is still at her post.

"Master?" Jenna calls.

"What!" the beast snaps.

"Since the girl is going to be with us f or quite some time, I was thinking that you might want to offer her a more comf o rtable room." The beast growls angrily a t her. "Then again, maybe not." The b eas t enters the cell where Elena is sti ll c rying into her hands.

"You didn't even let me say good bye," s he yells at him through her sobs. "I'll never see him again. I didn't get to sa y good-bye."

"I'll show you to your room," the beast says, feeling guilty for the first time in his life.

"My room?" Elena blinks in surprise. She looks around the cell and waves her han d at the room. "But I thought—"

"You wanna," the beast grumbles, "you wa nna stay in the tower?"

"No," Elena shakes her head.

"Then follow me," he says as he steps ou t of the room. The beast leads Elena th r ough the dark castle to her room. As t he y proceed, Elena begins to lag behind as she looks at the hideous sculptures on the walls and the light casting shado ws on them. Frightened, she gasps and ru ns to catch up with the beast, who is ca rry ing Jenna as a light source. The bea st l ooks back at Elena, and sees a tear form at the corner of her eye.

"Say something to her," Jenna whispers f rom her place in his hands.

"Hmm? Oh." He turns to Elena, who is wal king with her head down and her hair al m ost covering her face. "I...um...hope yo u like it here," he says as gently as he can, which is not very gentle at all . H e looks at Jenna for approval. The c andl estick motions the beast to continu e. "T he castle is your home now, so you can g o anywhere you wish, except the W est Win g."

Elena looks intrigued by his statement. "What's in the West Wing?"

The beast stops angrily, Elena gaspsing as she almost crashes into his back. "It 's forbidden!"

Beast continues, and Elena reluctantly f ollows. They finally get to her room an d the beast steps inside, holding the do o r for the brunette. She watches him wa ri ly as she steps into the dark room. T he door opens and light spills in. "Now, if there's anything you need, my servan ts will attend you," he says tenderly.

Jenna whispers in his ear. "Dinner—invit e her to dinner."

"You...will join me for dinner," the bea st bellows, growing angry, "that's not a request!" The beast leaves, slamming t h e door behind him. Elena, terrified, r un s over to the bed and flings herself ont o it, finally breaking down and cryi ng.

**Poor Elena! Don't worry, we all know wha t happens in the end. I hope that this s tory is different from many of the oth er Beauty and the Beast stories for the De lena fandom, because the _Beast_ isn't a vampire. Please review and tell me what you thought!**


	5. A Plot

Inside the tavern in Mystic Falls, the G rill, Stefan and Tyler are sitting near the fire. "Who does she think she is? Th at girl has tangled with the wrong man . No one says 'no' to Stefan!"

"Darn right!" Tyler agrees.

"Dismissed. Rejected. Publicly humiliate d. Why, it's more than I can bear." He t urns his chair away from the room and to ward the fire.

"More beer?" Tyler runs in front of him. 

Stefan turns his chair away from him aga in. "What for? Nothing helps. I'm disgra ced."

"Who, you? Never. Stefan, you've got to pull yourself together."

_Gosh it disturbs me to see you, Stefan_

_Looking so down in the dumps_

_Every guy here'd love to be you, Stefan_

_Even when taking your lumps_

_There's no man in town as admired as you _

_You're everyone's favorite guy_

_Everyone's awed and inspired by you_

_And it's not very hard to see why!_

_No one's slick as Stefan, no one's quick as Stefan_

_No one's neck as incredibly thick as Ste fan_

_For there's no man in town half as manly _

_Perfect, a pure paragon!_

_You can ask any Tom, Dick, or Stanley_

_And they'll tell you who's team they'd p refer to be on!_

_No one's been like Stefan, a king-pin li ke Stefan_

_No one's got a swell cleft in his chin l ike Stefan_

_Stefan: As a specimen, yes, I'm intimida ting!_

_My, what a guy that Stefan!_

_Give five hurrahs, give twelve hip-hips_

_Stefan is the best and the rest is all d rips!_

_No one fights like Stefan, no one bites like Stefan_

_In a wrestling match, nobody bites like Stefan_

_For there's no one as burly and brawny_

_Stefan: As you see I've got biceps to sp are_

_Tyler: Not a bit of him scraggly or scra wny_

_Stefan: That's right! And every last bit of me's covered with hair!_

_No one hits like Stefan, matches wits li ke Stefan_

_In a spitting match, nobody spits like S tefan!_

_I'm especially good at expectorating! Pt ooey!_

_Ten points for Stefan!_

_Stefan: When I was a lad I ate four doze n egg_

_Every morning to help me get large!_

_And now that I'm grown, I eat five dozen eggs_

_So I'm roughly the size of a barge!_

_No one shoots like Stefan, makes those b eauts like Stefan_

_Then goes tromping around wearing boots like Stefan_

_I use antlers in all of my decorating!_

_My what a guy! Stefan!_

The bargoers have picked up the chair an d carry Stefan around in it. Tyler trie s to flee, but they toss the chair into i ts normal place, and Tyler is pinned u nderneath.

Suddenly, Jeremy bursts in frantically. "Help! Someone help me!" he calls out to the bar.

"Jeremy?" one old man blinks in surprise .

"Please! Please, I need your help!" Jere my's running around the bar, trying to g et someone to listen to him. "He's got h er. He's got her locked in the dungeon . "

"Who?" Tyler taunts him.

"Elena. We must go. Not a minute to lose !" he tries to pull Tyler with him.

"Whoa! Slow down, Jeremy. Who's got Elen a locked in a dungeon?" Stefan asks, go a ding him on.

"A beast! A horrible, monstrous beast!" Jeremy has gone from person to person, p leading his case, until he is thrown at the feet of Stefan. There is a moment o f silence, then the bargoers begin to l augh and mock him.

"Is it a big beast?" one of the drunks a sks him.

"Huge!" Jeremy motions above his head.

"With a long, ugly snout?" another quest ions.

"Hideously ugly!" the poor young man is nodding eagerly, thinking that they actu ally believe him.

"And sharp, cruel fangs?" yet another as ks him.

"Yes, yes. Will you help me?"

"All right, old man. We'll help you out, " Stefan nods his head at the three men before motioning with his chin at Jerem y .

"You will? Oh thank you, thank you!" he almost jumps for joy. Three men pick up Jeremy and help him out by throwing him through the door.

"Crazy old Jeremy," the first man shakes his head. "He's always good for a laugh !"

"Crazy old Jeremy, hmm?" he rubs his chi n, looking pensive. "Crazy old Jeremy. Hmmm?"

_Tyler, I'm afraid I've been thinking._

_Tyler: A dangerous pastime—_

_Stefan: I know_

_But that wacky old coot is Elena's broth er_

_And his sanity's only so-so_

_Now the wheels in my head have been turn ing_

_Since I looked at that loony old man_

_See I promised myself I'd be married to Elena,_

_And right now I'm evolving a plan!_

"If I..." Stefan whispers in his ear.

"Yes?" Tyler's eyes widen.

"Then I..." whispers again.

"No, would she?" Tyler's eyes widen even more.

"…GUESS!"

"Now I get it!" Tyler nods his head.

"Let's go!" they say together.

_No one plots like Stefan, takes cheap sh ots like Stefan_

_Plans to persecute harmless crackpots li ke Stefan_

_So his marriage we soon'll be celebratin g!_

_My what a guy, Stefan!_

Outside the in the snow, Jeremy is walki ng alone through the streets of the tow n . "Will no one help me?" he calls to n o one in particular.

* * *

Back in Elena's new bedroom, Elena is st ill sobbing into a pillow. There is a _'clink clink clink'_ at the door. She gets up and walks over to open the door. Rebekah stands on the other side with with Klaus and their en tourage. "Who is it?" she says to the cl osed door.

"Rebekah, dear," the teapot answers as t he door opens. "I thought you might lik e a spot of tea."

Elena is amazed by the fact that she is listening to a walking tea set. "But you ...ah...but...I—" the brunette stumbles back into a pink wardrobe.

"Oof. Careful!" Caroline smiles at her.

Elena sits on bed, her eyes wide with wo nder. "This is impossible—"

Caroline leans her 'shoulder' on bed, po pping other end and Elena into the air. "I know it is," she laughs, "but here w e are!"

As sugar and cream are being poured into him, Klaus speaks up. "Told ya she was pretty, Bekah, didn't I?"

"All right, now, Klaus," Rebekah rolls h er eyes at her younger brother. "That'l l do." Klaus hops over to Elena, who sli des down the bed to sit on the floor. " Slowly, now. Don't spill!"

"Thank you," she picks up Klaus, and is about to take a sip of tea.

Klaus looks up at Elena and smiles. "Wan na see me do a trick?" Klaus takes a bi g breath, then puffs out his cheeks and b lows bubbles out the top of the cup.

Rebekah gasps in horror. "Klaus!"

"Oops," Klaus looks down guiltily, "sorr y."

"That was a very brave thing you did, my dear," Rebekah speaks kindly to the bru nette.

"We all think so," Caroline adds.

"But I've lost my brother, my dreams, ev erything," Elena starts to cry again, a t ear slipping down her cheek.

"Cheer up, child," Rebekah tries to smil e at her. "It'll turn out all right in t he end. You'll see." She looks up, star t led. "Oops! Look at me, jabbering on , when there's a supper to get on the t a ble. "She turns to the teacup. "Klaus!"

Klaus hops after his older sister. "Bye! "

Elena stands and the Caroline approaches her. "Well now, what shall we dress you in for dinner? Let's see what I've got in my drawers." She opens her doors and moths flutter out. She slams them shut. "Oh! How embarrassing. Here we are." One door opens, the other serves as an arm. It pulls out a pink dress. "Ah! There, you'll look ravishing in this one!" She smiles at Elena.

"That's very kind of you, but I'm not go ing to dinner," Elena pushes the dress a way from her with a frown.

"Oh, but you must!" Caroline argues. Ala ric waddles in, not hearing Elena's pre v ious statement.

"Ahem, ahem, ahem," he coughs, "dinner.. .is served."

**More cute Klaus! I love making him cute characters! Well, anyway, we get to see the Elena's answer to dinner next chapte r (even though we all know what happens! ) Please review!**


	6. Dinner

While Caroline the wardrobe is talking to Elena, the beast paces back and forth in front of a roaring fire. Jenna and Rebekah stands on the ledge above the fire, watching him.

"What's taking so long? I told her to come down," he roars. "Why isn't she here yet?!"

Oh, try to be patient, sir. The girl has lost her father and her freedom all in one day.

"Uh, master," Jenna tries to get his attention. "Have you thought that, perhaps, this girl could be the one to break the spell?"

The beast snarls at the candlestick angrily, "Of course I have. I'm not a fool."

"Good," Jenna nods her head, a smile on her face. "You fall in love with her, she falls in love with you, and—Poof!-the spell is broken! We'll be human again by midnight!"

"Oh, it's not that easy, Jenna," Rebekah shakes her head. "These things take time."

"But the rose has already begun to wilt," Jenna reminds her.

"It's no use. She's so beautiful, and I'm so...well, look at me!" he glares at the two objects, nostrils flared in agitation. Jenna shrugs her shoulders and looks at Rebekah.

"Oh, you must help her to see past all that," Rebekah tries to comfort him.

"I don't know how," the beast admits.

"Well, you can start by making yourself more presentable," Rebekah starts with the order, "straighten up, try to act like a gentleman." The beast sits up, then straightens his face very formally.

"Ah yes, when she comes in, give her a dashing, debonair smile," Jenna, always the charmer, says with a smile. "Come, come. Show me the smile." The beast bears his ragged fangs in a scary, and yet funny grin that looks like his face is about to crack in half.

Rebekah shakes her head at Jenna. "But don't frighten the poor girl."

"Impress her with your rapier wit," Jenna adds, starting to go back and forth with Rebekah. The beast looks between them, nodding his head at everything they say.

"But be gentle."

"Shower her with compliments."

"But be sincere."

"And above all..." Jenna starts.

"You must control your temper!"

Suddenly, the door creaks open. The beast wipes the silly face off, and looks to the door expectantly. "Here she is!" Jenna almost jumps up and down with excitement. This excitement sours when Alaric pops his head through the door.

"Uh, good evening," Alaric chuckles nervously.

The beast goes from expectant to mad. "Well, where is she?" the beast growls.

Alaric tries to buy time for himself. "Who? Oh! The girl. Yes, the, ah, girl," he stammers, trying to come up with something to say. "Well, actually, she's in the process of, ah, um, circumstances being what they are, ah... she's not coming."

"WHAT!" the beast roars and the sound can be heard from the whole first floor of the castle. The door bangs open and the beast comes running out, with the objects giving chase.

"Your grace! Your eminence! Let's not be hasty!" Alaric tries to stop him. The three of them keep shouting at him before they all quiet down. Elena's room looms before them and they watch as the beast runs up and bangs on the door.

"I thought I told you to come down to dinner!" the beast growls, flashing his animalistic fangs at the door.

"I'm not hungry!" Elena shouts from behind the door.

"You'll come out or I'll...I'll break down the door!" the beast snarls.

"Master, I could be wrong, but that may not be the best way to win the girl's affections," Jenna interrupts him.

"Please! Attempt to be a gentleman," Alaric tries to placate the monster.

The beast begins to grow even angrier. "But she is being so...difficult!" he retorts.

"Gently," Rebekah reminds him, "gently."

"Will you come down to dinner?" the beast asks in a dejected tone of voice.

"No!" Elena cries. The beast looks at the objects, his frustration obviously showing in his posture.

"Suave," Alaric tells him, "genteel."

"It would give me great pleasure if you would join me for dinner," the monster says, trying to act formal by bowing at the door.

"Ahem, ahem, we say 'please," Alaric reminds him.

Once again dejected, the beast says, "...please."

"No, thank you," Elena shouts from behind the door, still mad at the beast.

"You can't stay in there forever!" the brute says furiously.

"Yes I can!" Elena replies in a provoking tone of voice.

"Fine!" the beast throws his hands up in the air, blue eyes flashing. "Then go ahead and STARVE!" His roar echoes through the house and makes a shiver go up Elena's spine. The beast turns to the objects and says, "If she doesn't eat with me, then she doesn't eat at all!" The beast runs back down the hall, slamming a door and causing a piece of the ceiling to fall on Jenna.

"That didn't go very well at all, did it," Rebekah states the obvious.

"Jenna, stand watch at the door and inform me at once if there is the slightest change," Alaric orders.

Jenna takes a takes up the guard position next to door. "You can count on me, _mon capitan_," the candlestick jokes. Alaric rolls his eyes.

"Well, I guess we better go downstairs and start cleaning up," the grandfather clock sighs and makes his way down the stairs.

* * *

The beast roars as he enters his lair, knocking over and destroying things in his path. The whole room is filled with claw marks, overturned furniture, and even the bed looks torn to shreads.

"I ask nicely, but she refuses," he snarls at nothing. "What a...what does she want me to do—beg?" He picks up the magic mirror lying beside a beautiful glowing rose. "Show me the girl," he demands. The magic mirror shines before it glows green. After a few seconds, the surface of the mirror reveals Elena in her bedroom talking to Caroline.

"Why the master's not so bad once you get to know him," Caroline's voice sounds pleading to the monster's ears. "Why don't you give him a chance?"

"I don't want to get to know him," Elena cries, her cheeks wet with tears of fear. "I don't want to have anything to do with him!"

The beast sets down the magic mirror, speaking tenderly, "I'm just fooling myself," he shakes his head and runs a hand through his furry mane. "She'll never see me as anything...but a monster." He watches with sad blue eyes as another petals falls off of the rose. "It's hopeless." The beast puts his head in his hands, feeling a way of depression crash over him.

**The beast is definitely bipolar cause he can go from angry to depressed in just a few minutes. Please don't forget to review and tell me what you thought!**


	7. Be Our Guest

A few hours later, after the moon has risen high in the sky, Elena finally emerges from her room. Her shoes make no noise as she walks past a half asleep Jenna. When Elena's dress makes a slight breeze as she walks, Jenna startles awake, jumping up as her flames light again. She looks up to see the brunette walking down the hall.

"_Zut alors_! She has emerged!" she whispers to herself.

In the kitchen, Rebekah is putting Klaus to sleep in the cupboard while Alaric watches from the table.

"Come on, Klaus" Rebekah nudges him into the cupboard with her nose. "Into the cupboard with your brothers and sisters." She helps him over the ledge and he hops inside.

"But I'm not sleepy," Klaus whines, his eyes drooping.

"Yes you are," Rebekah argues.

"No, I'm...not," Klaus's voice is almost a whisper as he falls asleep and Rebekah shuts the cupboard door. A banging of pots and pans comes from the stove.

"I work and I slave all day, and for what?" the stove sneers; "a culinary masterpiece gone to waste."

"Oh, stop your grousing," Rebekah shakes her head. "It's been a long night for all of us."

"Well, if you ask me, she was just being stubborn," Alaric puts his hands on his hips. "After all, the master did say 'please.'"

"But if the master doesn't learn to control that temper," Rebekah counters, "he'll never break the- Elena enters, and Alaric cuts off Rebekah before she can say 'spell.'

Alaric interrupts Rebekah, smiling at the brunette. "Splendid to see you out and about, _mademoiselle_," he bows. Jenna comes running in behind the girl. "I am Alaric, head of the household." He leans over to kiss her hand, but Jenna butts in front of him. "This is Jenna, he introduces the candlestick.

"_En chante, cherie_," Jenna bows to her as well.

"If there's anything that we can do to make your stay more comfortable…" Alaric starts after finally pushing Jenna away from where she was trying to talk the girl's ears off with castle gossip. Jenna burns his hand in retaliation. "Ow!"

"I am a little hungry," Elena admits, a flush of embarrassment flooding her cheeks.

Rebekah's eyes widen in excitement. "You are? Hear that? She's hungry. Stoke the fire; break out the silver, wake the china." The fire on the stove roars to life, and drawers open to reveal silverware standing at attention.

Alaric leans over and whispers secretively, "Remember what the master said."

"Oh, pish tosh," Rebekah shakes her head at the clock. "I'm not going to let the poor child go hungry."

Alaric sighs, thinking he is giving in to the ultimate demand. "Oh, all right. Glass of water, crust of bread, and then—"

"Alaric, I am surprised at you," the female candlestick shakes her fire at him. "She's not our prisoner. She's our guest. We must make her feel welcome here." Jenna turns to Elena. "Right this way, _mademoiselle_.

"Well keep it down," Alaric says from behind the candlestick. "If the master finds out about this, it will be our necks!"

"Of course, of course," Jenna nods, waving one candlestick hand as if to swat a fly. "But what is dinner without a little music?"

Jenna has started out the swinging door. She lets it close, and the door hits Alaric and sends him across the room to land in a pan filled with what looks like pancake batter. He screams his line as he is in flight. "MUSIC!?"

In the dining room, Elena has been seated at the end of a long table. Jenna is on the table and a spotlight shines on her. "_Ma chere_, _mademoiselle_. It is with deepest pleasure and greatest pride that I welcome you tonight. And now, we invite you to relax. Let us pull up a chair as the dining room proudly presents...your dinner.

_Be our guest, be our guest_

_Put our service to the test,_

_Tie your napkin 'round your neck, cherie_

_And we provide the rest!_

_Soup du jour, hot hors d'oeuvres_

_Why we only live to serve_

_Try the grey stuff, it's delicious_

_Don't believe me? Ask the dishes!_

_They can sing, they can dance_

_After all, miss, this is France!_

_And a dinner here is never second best!_

_Go on unfold your menu, take a glance and then you'll_

_Be our guest, be our guest, be our guest!_

_Beef ragout, cheese souffle,_

_Pie and pudding en flambe!_

_We'll prepare and serve with flair_

_A culinary cabaret!_

_You're alone and you're scared,_

_But the banquet's all prepared!_

_No one's gloomy or complaining,_

_While the flatware's entertaining!_

_We tell jokes, I do tricks_

_With my fellow candlesticks_

_Mugs: And it's all in perfect taste_

_That you can bet!_

_Come on and lift your glass,_

_You've won your own free pass_

_To be our guest, be our guest, be our guest!_

_If you're stressed, it's fine dining we suggest!_

_Be our guest, be our guest, be our guest!_

_Life is so unnerving,_

_For a servant who's not serving!_

_He's not whole without a soul to wait upon_

_Alaric: Get off!_

_Ah, those good old days when we were useful_

_Suddenly, those good old days are gone_

_Ten years we've been rusting_

_Needing so much more than dusting_

_Needing exercise, a chance to use our skills!_

_Most days just lay around the castle,_

_Flabby fat and lazy_

_You walked in, and oops-a-daisie!_

_Rebekah: It's a guest, it's a guest!_

_Sakes alive, well I'll be blessed!_

_Wine's been poured and thank the Lord_

_I've had the napkins freshly pressed!_

_With dessert, she'll want tea,_

_And my dear, that's fine with me!_

_While the cups do their soft shoeing,_

_I'll be bubbling, I'll be brewing!_

_I'll get warm, piping hot_

_Heaven's sake, is that a spot?_

_Clean it up, we want the company impressed!_

_We've got a lot to do—Is it one lump or two?_

_For you our guest!_

_ALL: She's our guest!_

_Rebekah: She's our guest!_

_ALL: She's our guest!_

_Be our guest! Be our guest!_

_Our command is your request!_

_It's ten years since we had anybody here_

_And we're obsessed!_

_With your meal, with your ease,_

_Yes indeed, we aim to please_

_While the candlelight's still glowing_

_Let us help you, we'll keep going-_

_Course, by course_

_One by one_

_'Til you shout "Enough, I'm done!"_

_Then we'll sing you off to sleep as you digest_

_Tonight you'll prop your feet up,_

_But for let's eat up_

_Be our guest! Be our guest! Be our guest! Please Be our guest!_

At the end of their song, Elena claps and her smile is extremely bright. "Bravo! That was wonderful!" Her eyes are bright with laughter.

"Thank you, thank you, _mademoiselle_," Alaric bows, acting as if the whole thing was his idea. "Yes, good show, wasn't it everyone." His eyes cross as he looks down at his own face. "Oh, my goodness, will you look at the time. Now, it's off to bed, off to bed!" Jenna comes up next to Alaric.

"Oh, I couldn't possibly go to bed now," Elena shakes her head as she looks at the two objects with curious eyes. "It's my first time in an enchanted castle."

"Enchanted? Who said anything about the castle being enchanted?" Alaric laughs nervously, trying to cover it up, just as a fork runs past. He turns to Jenna with an accusatory glare. "It was you, wasn't it!"

"I, um, figured it out for myself," Elena says over Alaric and Jenna's whispered fight. They stop and turn to her and, if they were human, would have blushed. Alaric dusts himself off, and Jenna fixes her wax nose. "I'd like to look around, if that's all right."

"Oh! Would you like a tour?" Jenna asks, almost squealing with excitement.

"Wait a second, wait a second. I'm not sure that's such a good idea." He turns to Jenna and says confidentially, "We can't let her go poking around in certain places, if you know what I mean."

Elena pokes Alaric's stomach like the Pillsbury doughboy. "Perhaps you could take me," she tries, "I'm sure you know everything there is to know about the castle." Apparently, trying to flatter him works and Elena smiles on the inside.

"Well, actually, ah yes, I do!" Alaric nods eagerly, quite flattered by her words.

Alaric and Jenna lead the brunette down the large main hallway, followed by the dog-like footstool.

Alaric, trying to show off his vast knowledge of the castle, is lecturing. "As you can see, the pseudo facade was stripped away to reveal a minimalist rococo design. Note the unusual inverted vaulted ceilings." He points to yet another history knickknack. "This is yet another example of the neo-classic baroque period, and as I always say, if it's not baroque, don't fix it!" He laughs at his own joke, but Jenna just glares at him. Her eyes clearly say 'that's not funny' and he smiles shyly at her. "Now then, where was I?" He turns to find the heads of the suits of armor have turned to follow Elena. "As you were!" They all snap back to face forward. "Now, if I may draw your attention to the flying buttresses above the—_mademoiselle_?" Alaric turns back to the group and is one girl short. He sees her beginning to climb the grand staircase. He and Jenna run up to her and jump in front on her, blocking her progress upstairs.

"What's up there?" Elena points up the stairs toward the darker part of the castle.

"Where? Up there? Nothing. Absolutely nothing of interest at all in the West Wing. Dusty, dull, very boring," Alaric rambles, trying to keep her from going any farther. Jenna has been shaking his head, but Alaric nudges him and he nods in agreement.

"Oh, so that's the West Wing," Elena's brown eyes continue to sparkle with renewed curiosity.

"Nice going!" Jenna hits Alaric over the head with the butt of her candlestick hand.

"I wonder what he's hiding up there," she wonders out loud.

"Hiding?" Jenna chuckles nervously. "The master is hiding nothing!"

"Then it wouldn't be forbidden," Elena argues. She steps over them, but they dash up and block her again.

"Perhaps, mademoiselle would like to see something else. We have exquisite tapestries dating all the way back to..." Jenna starts but Elena shakes her head.

Elena steps over them again. "Maybe later."

Jenna and Alaric try to block Elena yet again as the candlestick says, "The gardens, or the library perhaps?"

Elena pauses, incredibly interested. "You have a library?"

Alaric is thrilled that he has found something to interest her. "Oh yes! Indeed!" He nods eagerly.

"With books!" Jenna adds.

"Gads of books!"

"Mountains of books!"

"Forests of books!"

"Cascades..."

"...of books!"

"Swamps of books!"

"More books than you'll ever be able to read in a lifetime! Books on every subject ever studied, by every author who ever set pen to paper..." Jenna and Alaric begin marching off down the hall. Elena begins to follow, but her curiosity overtakes her, and she turns back to the West Wing. Her excitement begins to dwindle, though, when she enters the hallway leading to the beast's lair. As she walks down the hall, she stops to look in a mirror that has been shattered into several pieces, each one reflecting her concerned look. She reaches the end of the hall and finds a closed door with gargoyle handles. She takes a deep breath, then reaches out and opens the door. It opens with a creak and Elena begins to explore. She is truly shocked by everything she sees. She wanders around, looking, and knocks over a table, but she catches it before it crashes to the floor. She then turns her head and sees a shredded picture on the wall. Elena reaches out and lifts the shreds of the picture to reveal the prince.

Elena suddenly sees a soft glow over her shoulder and she abandons the portrait. Spinning around, her eyes grow wide as she sees the enchanted rose under the bell jar. She walks over to it, her eyes transfixed. She reaches out to lift off the jar, leaving the rose unprotected. She reaches up, brushing back the strand of hair that has been repeatedly falling on her forehead, then reaches out to touch the rose.

As she nears it, a shadow falls over her. The beast has been on the balcony, and sees her. He jumps back into the room to slam the jar back on the rose. He then turns his attention to Elena.

The beast growls angrily, "Why did you come here?"

"I'm sorry," Elena apologizes, her breathing speeding up with fear.

"I warned you never to come here!"

"I didn't mean any harm," Elena cries, holding her hands over her face in case he attacks her.

"Do you realize what you could have done?" the beast snarls, even angrier now, as he begins to thrash at the furniture.

"Please, stop! No!" Elena whimpers, still scared but with that brave tilt of her head.

"Get out!" the beast roars at her. "GET OUT!"

**Can't wait to see the beast (aka Damon) save Elena from the wolves. I just wish more of you guys would ****review and say more than just 'love it!' I love getting feedback and hearing exactly what you like about the chapter, or even something that you might want to see in the future.**


	8. Something There

Elena turns and flees the room. The beast calms down before he falls into despair, finally realizing that he may have destroyed his chances with Elena. She reaches the stairway and grabs her cloak. She rushes down the stairs, wrapping the cloak around her as she rushes past a confused Jenna and Alaric.

"Wh- Where are you going?" Jenna stutters, recognizing the coat from when she arrived in the first place.

"Promise or no promise, I can't stay here another minute!" Elena shouts, wiping her tears away with the arm of her dress.

"Oh no, wait, please wait!" Alaric, with Jenna behind him, try to rush to stop her, but the door slams shut behind the brunette. She and Alaric both bow their heads in sadness. Elena rushes to the barn, where the beast has allowed her to keep Phillipe. Saddling him up, she urges him to race as fast as he can out of the castle grounds and into the forest. She begins to ride through the forest, but Phillipe comes to a stop. She looks up and sees the wolves. She gasps, pulling the reins as she turns Phillipe the other way. She runs from side to side, making the wolves hit the trees. Phillipe runs out on a frozen pond, but his and Elena's weight collapse the ice.

The wolves chase her into the water. Some begin to drown, but Phillipe is able to get out of the water before anything serious happens. He runs into a clearing, but becomes surrounded by wolves. He bucks, throwing Elena off and wrapping the reins around a tree branch. The wolves begin their attack on Phillipe, but Elena comes to his rescue and beats them away with a stick. One wolf grabs the stick in its mouth and breaks half of it off, leaving Elena defenseless. Another leaps at her, grabbing the corner of her cloak and dragging her to the ground.

She looks up and sees a wolf about to jump on top of her. It leaps and is caught in mid-air by the beast. He throws the wolf away before he situates himself to stand between the wolves and Elena. They lunge at each other. One rips a hole in the beast's shoulder, and the others focus their attack on that spot. Finally, the beast throws a wolf against a tree, knocking it out. The others turn and run in fear. The beast turns back to Elena, looks at her despairingly before he collapses in exhaustion. Elena, grateful to be alive, turns back to Phillipe and begins to get on, but her conscience takes over, and she walks over to the fallen the beast. Elena and Phillipe walk back to the castle, with the beast on the horse's back.

* * *

Inside the den, a fire is roaring and the objects surround the chair on which Elena has situated the beast. Elena pours hot water out of Rebekah and into a bowl. She soaks a rag in the water before she turns to the beast, who is licking his wounds.

"Here now. Oh, don't do that." The beast growls at her as she tries to clean the wound with her rag. "Just...hold still." She touches the rag to the wound and the beast roars in pain. The objects, who have been watching, jump back into hiding from the outburst.

"That hurts!" the beast growls at her.

"If you'd hold still, it wouldn't hurt as much," Elena replies as a counterpoint.

"Well if you hadn't run away, this wouldn't have happened!" the beast snarls at her.

"Well if you hadn't frightened me, I wouldn't have run away!" Elena cries as she dips the cloths back into the water.

The beast opens his mouth to respond, but has to stop and think of a good line. "Well you shouldn't have been in the West Wing!" the beast is obviously fishing for a line, but she just raises her voice.

"Well you should learn to control your temper!" The beast raises his hand to bring out another point, but finds he has none, so he bows his head down again. The objects emerge from their hiding as Elena has conquered the ferocious temper of the beast. Elena moves the rag closer to the wound. "Now, hold still," Elena instructs softly. "This may sting a little." The beast gives a surprised grunt, but he grits his teeth as the rag is applied. Elena speaks tenderly to him again, her eyes sparkling in the firelight, "By the way, thank you, for saving my life." The beast opens his eyes, looking surprised.

The beast replies in a tender tone, "You're welcome."

Behind the chair, the objects look on with interest.

* * *

Inside Stefan's tavern, the bar is almost empty except for Stefan, Tyler and Connor, who are all sitting at a table in the far corner.

"I don't usually leave the asylum in the middle of the night," Connor starts, "but they said you'd make it worth my while." Stefan pulls out a sack of gold and tosses it in front of him. He takes out a piece, scrapes it on his chin and continues, "Aah, I'm listening."

"It's like this," he puts his hands on the table, "I've got my heart set on marrying Elena, but she needs a little persuasion."

Tyler butts in, "turned him down flat!" Stefan slams a beer mug on his head.

"Everyone knows her father's a lunatic. He was in here tonight raving about a beast in a castle..." Stefan tells the man sitting in front of him.

"Jeremy is harmless," Connor shakes his head.

"The point is," Stefan pauses for a minute before he continues, "Elena would do anything to keep him from being locked up."

"Yeah, even marry him!" Tyler nods as he gestures to Stefan. The blond man gives him another threatening look, and he ducks back under the mug.

"So you want me to throw her father in the asylum unless she agrees to marry you?" Connor asks. They both nod in agreement. "Oh, that is despicable. I love it!" he chuckles evilly and Stefan joins in.

Inside Elena's cottege, Jeremy is packing to leave on a long journey. "If no one will help me, then I'll go back alone. I don't care what it takes. I'll find that castle and somehow I'll get her out of there." Jeremy leaves on his journey. Seconds later, Stefan and Tyler arrive with Connor. They enter the house looking for one of the residents.

"Elena!" Stefan calls for the occupants of the house. "Jeremy!"

"Oh, well, I guess it's not gonna work after all," Tyler shrugs and walks out the door. Stefan grabs him by the neck and walks outside.

"They have to come back sometime, and when they do, we'll be ready for them," Stefan smiles slyly as he drops Tyler into a snow bank by the porch. "Tyler, don't move from that spot until Elena and her father come home."

"But, but... aww, nuts!" He pounds the side of the house and a pile of snow falls on his head.

* * *

Winter had never been a happy time in the castle. It is a reminder of the time the beast was transformed. But, as he watches Elena is playing in the snow with Phillipe and the dog-like footstool, a small grin breaks out on his face. Alaric and Jenna stand beside him on the balcony, watching both their master and the scene before them.

"I've never felt this way about anyone," the beast admits, an excited look on his face. "I want to do something for her." He frowns. "But what?"

"Well, there's the usual thing—flowers, chocolates, promises you don't intend to keep..." he counts on his hand.

"Ahh, no," Jenna glares at the clock and shakes her head. "It has to be something very special. Something that sparks her inter—wait a minute."

A little while later, the beast is leading Elena somewhere. Her eyes are sparkling with curiosity as she watches him lead her. None of the objects are around, leaving the two of them alone.

"Elena, there's something I want to show you," the beast starts as he begins to open the door, but stops. "But first, you have to close your eyes." She shoots him a questioning look, but his sapphire blue eyes give away his excitement. "It's a surprise." Elena closes her eyes. The beast waves his hand in front of her. He opens the door and leads her inside. Her hands are extremely small in his as he pulls both to lead her, a small smile on his face.

Elena steps with him, not scared that he will harm her. "Can I open them?" the brunette asks eagerly. She's never been very patient when surprises are involved.

"No, no. Not yet. Wait here," he leaves her side to draw back the curtains. Brilliant sunlight spills into the room, revealing a library. The amount of space is filled almost to the top with books. Elena flinches reflexively as the light hits her face.

"Now can I open them?" Elena asks again, a shy smile on her face.

"All right," the beast comes back to stand beside her. "Now."

The brunette opens her eyes and her eyes sweep back and forth over the reveal library filled with books. "I can't believe it," she laughs, covering her mouth as if to hide her smile. "I've never seen so many books in all my life!"

"You—you like it?" the beast stutters, looking almost shy.

"It's wonderful," Elena breathes, her eyes turning from the books to look at him, a wide smile on her face.

"Then it's yours," the creature nods his head as he watches her eyes widen. Something flutters inside his heart and he embraces it, not knowing what it is.

"Oh," Elena gasps, her eyes filling with tears, "thank you so much."

He leads her away, showing her how the books are arranged and helping her as she pulls out many books, stacking them to read later. The objects, including Klaus, are watching in foreground.

"Oh, would you look at that?" Rebekah chuckles as she watches the two.

Jenna laughs, "I knew it would work."

"What?" Klaus bounces up and down. "What works?"

"It's very encouraging," Alaric agrees.

"Isn't this exciting!" Bonnie, the feather duster, cries out happily.

"I didn't see anything," Klaus whines.

"Come along, Klaus," Rebekah leads him away. "There's chores to be done in the kitchen."

"But what are they talking about?" Klaus drones on. "What's going on?"

* * *

At breakfast the next morning, Elena sits at one end and the beast at the other. Rebekah stands on the table between them. Elena is served breakfast, and as she begins to eat, she looks at the beast, who is gobbling up his food with no table manners whatsoever. Klaus laughs, but Rebekah shoots him an admonishing look.

Elena turns away and tries to ignore it, but Klaus comes to the rescue. He nudges the spoon with his nose at the beast and he reaches out for it. Elena looks at him in wonder as he tries to eat with the spoon but he has little success. Finally, Elena puts down her spoon and lifts her bowl as if in a toast. The beast looks at the compromise and does the same. They both begin to sip their breakfast out of their bowls.

Later that same day, Elena has managed to persuade the beast to come out into the courtyard with her. She pulls out a sack of seed she had found in the barn and they begin to feed the birds.

_There's something sweet_

_And almost kind_

_But he was mean_

_And he was coarse and unrefined_

_But now he's dear_

_And so unsure,_

_I wonder why I didn't see it there before_

Elena is trying to attract some birds to the beast, who shoves a handful of seeds at them. Finally, she takes a handful and gently spreads it out, creating a trail that leads into his paw-like hands. One lands in his hands, and he looks up thrilled. She smiles down at him and rests a hand on his shoulder.

_**She glanced this way**_

_**I thought I saw**_

_**And when we touched**_

_**She didn't shudder at my paw**_

_**No it can't be**_

_**I'll just ignore**_

_**But then she's never looked at me that way before.**_

Elena has ducked around a tree, leaving the beast with the birds. She begins to look doubtful again, but turns her head around the tree and laughs. The beast is covered with birds, his eyes looking around as he tries to find a way out.

_New, and a bit alarming_

_Who'd have ever thought that this could be?_

_True, that he's no Prince Charming_

_But there's something in him that I simply didn't see_

Elena throws a snowball at the beast, who had looked at her proudly after the birds flew away. He begins to gather a large pile of snow. Inside the castle, sitting at the window, are the objects, who are watching the couple with smiles on their face. In the background, Elena throws another snowball at the beast, who drops his huge pile of snow on his head. He chases her around a tree, but she ducks around the other side and sneaks up on him from behind.

"_Well who'd have thought_?" Jenna smiles happily.

"_Well bless my soul_," Rebekah nods.

"_And who'd have known_?" Alaric asks.

"_Well who indeed_?" Rebekah laughs.

"_And who'd have guessed they'd come together on their own_?" Jenna watches as the two continue to throw snowballs at each other.

"_It's so peculiar_," Rebekah thinks.

_We'll wait and see_

_A few days more _

_There may be something there that wasn't there before_

The couple come inside eventually and the beast helps Elena out of her winter cloak. She smiles at him, nodding her thanks, before the two sit in front of the roaring fire. She begins to read to the beast from Shakespeare's _Romeo and Juliet_, which he seems to enjoy.

The objects watch from the doorway, undetected by either of the two.

"Yes," Alaric nods his head with a smile, "perhaps there's something there that wasn't there before."

"What?" Klaus squeaks.

"There may be something there that wasn't there before," Rebekah repeats.

"What's there, Bekah?" Klaus whines, hating to be out of the loop.

"I'll tell you when you're older," Rebekah says as she leads her little brother and the other objects away from the romantic scene.

**Cute scenes. Can't wait for Elena to meet the man behind the beast. We only have a few more chapters to go! Please review and tell me what you think!**


	9. Beauty and the Beasy

Inside the beast's lair, the beast is getting washed up for the big night with Elena. Jenna is there with him.

"Tonight is the night!" the female candlestick cheers.

The beast replies hesitantly, "I'm not sure I can do this."

"You don't have time to be timid," Jenna reminds him. "You must be bold, daring."

"Bold," the beast nods as if reminding himself, "daring." The beast has emerged from the tub and shakes himself dry.

"There will be music," Jenna continues, "romantic candlelight, provided by myself, and when the time is right, you confess your love."

"Yes, I - I con—No, I can't," the beast's eyes sparkle before they dim as he realizes what he is about to do.

"You care for the girl, don't you?" Jenna asks, a small smile on her face.

"More than anything," the beast breathes.

"Well then you must tell her.," Jenna urges. The coatrack has been cutting the beast's hair. It finishes and steps back. "Voila. You look so...so..." Jenna starts before she looks for a word to say as the beast sits before her in pig-tails and bows.

"Stupid," the beast deadpans.

"Not quite the word I was looking for. Perhaps a little more off the top. The coatrack begins to cut and chop again. Alaric enters with a bow.

"Ahem ahem ahem," he coughs into his hand, "your lady awaits."

Out on the grand staircase, Elena descends from the top of the West Wing side in a glittering gold ballgown. She reaches the landing and looks up at the beast, who is standing at the top of the stairs in his dress clothes. He is nudged on by Jenna from behind the curtain, and he descends and meets Elena at the landing. Arm in arm, they descend the last section of stairs and continue on their way to dinner, stopped momentarily by footstool.

Rebekah sings from her cart with Klaus on board.

_Tale as old as time_

_True as it can be_

_Barely even friends_

_Then somebody bends_

_Unexpectedly_

_Just a little change_

_Small to say the least_

_Both a little scared_

_Neither one prepared_

_Beauty and the beast_

Elena pulls the beast from his seat after their dinner is finished. He looks unsure of himself as they move into the ballroom. The brunette takes one of the beast's hands in hers and places the other on her waist before she puts hers on his shoulder. The beast occasionally looks over at Jenna and Alaric for their approval. Rebekah and Klaus are in the ballroom on their cart.

_Ever just the same_

_Ever a surprise_

_Ever as before, ever just as sure_

_As the sun will rise_

_Tale as old as time_

_Tune as old as song_

_Bittersweet and strange_

_Finding you can change_

_Learning you were wrong_

_Certain as the sun_

_Rising in the east_

_Tale as old as time,_

_Song as old as rhyme_

_Beauty and the beast_

_Tale as old as time,_

_Song as old as rhyme_

_Beauty and the beast_

Rebekah finishes her song as the lights begin to dim. She turns to her younger brother. "Off to the cupboard with you now, Klaus. It's past your bedtime." She kisses him on the top of his head. "Good night, love." Klaus slides off the end of the cart, and hops out of the room, but comes back for one last look.

* * *

Elena and the beast have adjourned to the balcony under a starry night. The beast looks uncertain of himself as he watches her eyes flicker in the starlight. She begins pointing out constellations to him in a whispered voice. The beast stops her with a gentle hand. "Elena? Are you happy here with me?" he asks.

"Yes," Elena answers hesitantly before she looks off into the distance.

"What is it?" the beast asks, looking concerned.

Elena looks at him desperately. "If only I could see my father again, just for a moment," she admits; "I miss him so much."

The beast looks disappointed for a moment, before his eyes light up in excitement. "There is a way."

The pair adjourn to the beast's lair, where the beast hands Elena the magic mirror. "This mirror will show you anything, anything you wish to see," the beast informs her.

"I'd like to see my father," she asks the mirror hesitantly, before adding, "please." The magic mirror shines into life and Elena turns her head away as it flashes. The glow fades and it reveals that Jeremy fallen in the woods, coughing and lost. He is calling out her name and Elena is shocked. The beast looks at her with concern.

"Jer. Oh, no." Tears gather in her eyes as she looks up at the beast. "He's sick, he may be dying. And he's all alone."

The beast turns to look at the rose, deep in thought before he turns back to her. "Then...then you must go to him."

"What did you say?" Elena blinks in shock.

"I release you," the beast nods. "You are no longer my prisoner."

"You mean...I'm free?" Elena whispers in amazement.

"Yes." The beast nods once.

"Oh, thank you," she smiles weakly before looking down at the mirror; "Hold on, Jeremy. I'm on my way." Elena turns to leave, then turns back and pushes the magic mirror back to the beast.

"Take it with you," the beast tells her as he presses the mirror back into her hand, "so you'll always have a way to look back, and remember me."

"Thank you for understanding how much he needs me," Elena whispers as a tear slips down her cheek, before he turns to leave, not noticing the beast down with such sadness in his eyes. Suddenly, the brunette spins around and wraps her arms around the beast, burying her face in the fur of his chest. She pulls away and reaches up to touch his cheek softly before she flies out of the room. Elena's skirt flies past Alaric, who has just entered the room.

"Well, your highness," Alaric claps his hands together. "I must say everything is going just peachy. I knew you had it in you."

"I let her go," the beast says, his voice rough with sadness.

"Ha ha ha, yes. Splend—" Alaric stops in the middle of his sentence. "You what? How could you do that?"

"I had to," the beast answers.

Alaric blinks in surprise. "Yes, but why?"

"Because, I love her."

* * *

Alaric rushes downstairs to the kitchen, where everyone else is waiting for the news. He has just finished telling the objects about the beast's decision to let Elena go.

"He did what?!" the other objects cry.

"Yes, I'm afraid it's true," Alaric nods sadly.

"She's going away?" Klaus pouts as much as he can with his teacup face, eyes glassy with childish tears.

"But he was so close," Jenna cries, throwing up her candlestick hands.

"After all this time," Rebekah, who has been in the beast's services the longest, "he's finally learned to love."

"That's it, then," Jenna shakes her head. "That should break the spell."

"But it's not enough," Rebekah reminds her; "she has to love him in return."

"And now it's too late," Alaric sighs.

The beast watches Elena leave from above in his tower. He roars in sorrow and anger. Elena looks back at him before she turns and urges Phillipe to move faster. Tears stream down her cheeks and a hollow part of her chest thuds loudly, making her whole body hurt. She isn't familiar with the feeling, but she knows that it's more than the fact that she is leaving the place and the objects she has grown to love.

Elena dismounts from Phillipe and rushes around in the snow, the horse following her as they search for her brother. Finally she finds him face down in a snow bank. She pulls him into her arms and sets him on the horse's back before mounting behind him to keep him steady. They return home, where Tyler is still waiting, disguised as a snowman.

"Oh, they're back," Tyler chuckles before he shakes off the snow and rushes off to tell Stefan.

**:( Well, we all knew that was coming. And we all know what's coming up next.**

**P.S. Aladdin is the next Delena Story! (Order is: ****Aladdin, Hercules, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Lion King, Lion King 2**)

**Lion King is a Stefan/Katherine story and Lion King 2 is the Delena story. Romeo and Juliet...**


	10. Kill the Beast

Jeremy blinks as his eyes flutter open. Blurry visions turn into clear images as he sees his younger sister leaning over him, a wet cloth in her hand. She smiles at him as he struggles to sit up. "Elena?" his voice is a raspy whisper.

"It's all right, Jer," she brushes his bangs from his eyes. "I'm home."

"I thought I'd never see you again," he says in wonder as she wraps him in a hug.

"I missed you so much," she admits.

"But the beast. How did you escape?"

"I didn't escape, Jer," her voice is soft as her eyes glaze over in memory of sapphire blue eyes. "He let me go."

"That horrible beast?" Jeremy cries in surprise.

"But he's different, now," she tells him. "He's changed somehow."

Something rustles inside Elena's pack. The flap opens and the magic mirror falls out with Klaus rolling on top of it. He jumps out and smiles at her. She giggles cups her palms, which the small tea cup jumps into.

"Hi!" Klaus squeaks.

"Oh, a stowaway," Elena holds the cup out so that Klaus can jump down to her brother.

"Why, hello there, little fella," Jeremy greets the small tea cup. "Didn't think I'd ever see you again."

Klaus turns to Elena with a look of question on his face. "Elena, why'd you go away? Don't you like us anymore?"

"Oh, Klaus. Of course I do." She smiles softly as she remembers the beast. "It's just that—" The sound of knocking on the door interrupts her. Elena opens it and _Monsieur_ Connor stands on the porch.

"May I help you?" Elena questions with an almost sarcastic tone in her voice.

"I've come to collect your brother," Connor replies. He steps aside to show the Asylum D'Loons wagon behind him.

"My brother?" Elena blinks in surprise.

"Don't worry, _mademoiselle_. We'll take good care of him."

"My brother's not crazy!" Elena cries in indignation.

Tyler emerges from the crowd. "He was raving like a lunatic. We all heard him, didn't we!"

"Yeah!" the townspeople surrounding the house respond.

"No, I won't let you," she tries to close the door but Connor is much stronger than her.

Jeremy has emerged from the house. "Elena?" he steps up behind her and slips Klaus into her pocket.

"Ah, Jeremy," Tyler taunts from his place in the crowd, "tell us again, man, just how big was the beast?"

Jeremy struggles for words. "Well, he was...that is...enormous. I'd say at least eight, no more like ten feet." The crowd laughs at him.

"Well, you don't get much crazier than that."

"It's true, I tell you!" Jeremy cries.

Connor waves his arms and orderlies move in and pick up Jeremy.

"Take him away!" Tyler, and some other people surrounding the house, call out.

"Let go of me!" Jeremy struggles in between the two men.

Stefan has been watching from the sides, standing near Connor. "No, you can't do this!" Elena cries, tugging on his sleeve. Connor shakes her off and walks away.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Stefan comes up behind her and shakes his finger at her. "Poor Elena. It's a shame about your brother."

"You know he's not crazy, Stefan," Elena cries, her brown doe eyes filled with unshed tears.

"I might be able to clear up this little misunderstanding, if..." the blond man trails off.

"If what?"

"If you marry me."

"What?" Elena stumbles back, her eyes wide with horror.

"One little word, Elena. That's all it takes."

"Never!" Elena hisses.

"Have it your way," Stefan says with a shrug as he turns and walks away slowly, playing hard to get.

Elena watches as Jeremy is thrown into a wagon with the asylum's logo on the side. "Elena!" His cry is muffled by the wooden wagon. She runs back into the house. "Let go of me!" Jeremy struggles with his captors.

Elena comes back with the magic mirror. She yells to the crowd, "My brother's not crazy and I can prove it!" She looks to the mirror. "Show me the beast!" The magic mirror again shines before it produces the image of the still depressed the beast. The crowd oohs and aahs at it.

"Is it dangerous?" a woman in the crowd asks.

Elena shakes her head, trying to reassure her. "Oh, no. He'd never hurt anyone. Please, I know he looks vicious, but he's really kind and gentle." Her voice gets softer as she continues to talk. Elena looks down at the mirror and smiles. "He's my friend."

"If I didn't know better" Stefan growls from behind her, "I'd think you had feelings for this monster."

"He's no monster, Stefan," Elena retorts, "you are!"

"She's as crazy as the old man," he proclaims as he grabs the mirror from her hand. "The beast will make off with your children! He'll come after them in the night."

"No!" Elena cries, grabbing onto his shirt sleeve.

"We're not safe 'til his head is mounted on my wall!" Stefan goads the crowd to anger. "I say we kill the beast!" The mob cheers him and repeats the words 'kill him'.

_We're not safe until he's dead_

_He'll come stalking us at night!_

_Set to sacrifice our children to his monstrous appetite!_

_He'll wreak havoc on our village _

_If we let him wander free_

"So it's time to take some action, boys," Stefan's voice rises above the crowd. "It's time to follow me!" Stefan throws a torch into a haystack, creating an instant bonfire. He begins to prance around it, warning of the dangers of the horrible the beast.

_Through the mist, through the woods_

_Through the darkness and the shadows_

_It's a nightmare but it's one exciting ride_

_Say a prayer, then we're there_

_At the drawbridge of a castle,_

_And there's something truly terrible inside._

_It's a beast,_

_He's got fangs, razor sharp ones_

_Massive paws,_

_Killer claws for the feast_

_Hear him roar, see him foam,_

_But we're not coming home,_

_'Til he's dead, good and dead, kill the beast!_

Elena tries to interject. "No," she cries over the noise of the crowd. "I won't let you do this."

"If you're not with us," Stefan snarls at her, eyes looking as monstrous as the beast's did before he became kind, "you're against us. Bring the old man."

"Get your hands off me!" Jeremy struggles. Stefan throws the siblings into the basement and bolts the door.

"We can't have them running off to warn the creature!" the blond man shakes his head as if the notion is crazy.

"Let us out!" Elena hits the door with her fists.

_We'll rid the village of this beast_

_Who's with me?_

_Light your torch, mount your horse!_

_Screw your courage to the sticking place_

_We're counting on Stefan to lead the way!_

_Through a mist, to a wood,_

_Where within a haunted castle,_

_Something's lurking that you don't see every day!_

Stefan leads the mob through the town and out into the forest, where they start chopping trees in preparation for their assault on the castle.

_It's a beast_

_One as tall as a mountain!_

_We won't rest_

_'Til he's good and deceased!_

_Sally forth, tally ho,_

_Grab your sword, grab your bow_

_Praise the Lord and here we go!_

"We'll lay siege to his castle and bring back his head!" Stefan shouts and the rest of the mob cheers.

Back inside the basement, Elena is trying to pry at the window with a stick. "I have to warn the beast," her face is taunt with agony. "This is all my fault. Oh, Jer, what are we going to do?" She sits down on tne of Jeremy's work benches and cradles her head in her hands. Her shoulder are shaking with sobs.

Jeremy tries to comfort her. "Now, now. We'll think of something."

Outside, Klaus is looking in through the window. He turns around, thinking, and then he sees Jeremy's contraption with the axe on the end of it.

_We don't like, what we don't_

_Understand, it frankly scares us_

_And this monster is mysterious at least!_

The mob continues to sing as they carve a path through the muddy forest towards the fortress of Elena's beast.

_Bring your guns, bring your knives,_

_Save your children and your wives,_

_We'll save our village and our lives,_

_We'll kill the beast!_

* * *

"I knew it, I knew it was foolish to get our hopes up" Alaric shakes his head as he walks back and forth in front of the fire.

"Maybe it would have been better if she had never come at all," Jenna agrees, her fire almost dim with sadness. The dog-like footstool comes in barking. They rush over to the window expecting the return of Elena.

"Could it be?" Jenna breathes.

"Is it she?" Rebekah jumps up behind them and almost smiles.

Jenna watches as one torch in the rain becomes many and she soon realizes that they are not looking at Elena's return, but a mob. "Sacre bleu, invaders!"

"Encroachers!" Alaric adds, always having to use big words.

Rebekah notices that Stefan has something familiar and silver in his hand. "And they have the mirror!" she cries in dismay.

Alaric begins to issue orders. "Warn the master. If it's a fight they want, we'll be ready for them." He turns around from window. "Who's with me? The door is slammed as the rest of the objects leave Alaric behind.

Outside the castle, Stefan is also issuing orders. "Take whatever booty you can find, but remember, the beast is mine!"

On the stairway, the objects of the beast's castle are marching down to do battle with the mob. They do have the element of surprise, after all.

_**OBJECTS**: Hearts ablaze, banners high!_

_We go marching into battle,_

_Unafraid, although the danger just increased!_

_**MOB**: Raise the flag, sing the song_

_Here we come, we're fifty strong_

_And fifty Frenchmen can't be wrong,_

_Let's kill the beast!_

Inside the beast's lair, Rebekah wanders in to tells the beast of their visitors. "Pardon me, master," she speaks before she fully enters the room.

"Leave me in peace," the beast is crouched over the table where the rose stands, only one petal left. His cerulean eyes are as broken as Rebekah has ever seen them.

"But sir," she cries, "the castle is under attack!"

"Kill the beast, kill the beast!" the mob cries as they bash a tree against the big wooden doors. The enchanted objects try to keep the door closed but it doesn't seem to be working.

"This isn't working!" Jenna states the obvious.

"Oh, Jenna! We must do something!" Bonnie, the feather duster, cries in horror.

"Wait!" A light bulb seems to go off over Jenna's head as her fire suddenly brightens for a second. "I know!"

"Kill the beast, kill the beast!" the mob continues to chant.

Beck inside the beast's lair, Rebekah tries to reason with her master. "What shall we do, master?" she asks.

Still very sad, the beast sighs. "It doesn't matter now. Just let them come."

"Kill the beast, kill the beast, kill the beast!" the mob contines to get louder before they break in, and finds a grand entrance filled with assorted pieces of furniture, teacups, candlesticks, feather dusters and clocks. They tiptoe in, and Tyler unknowingly picks up Jenna.

"Now!" Jenna screams from Tyler's hand. All the objects spring into life, attacking their human enemies.

* * *

Back at Elena's house, Klaus has readied Jeremy's woodcutting invention. Like a kid on Christmas morning, his teacup eyes are sparkling with an excited joy.

"Yes! Here we go!" he pulls on something and the invention whistles to live.

Jeremy looks out from the window and sees the advancing axe. "What the devil?" he looks confused before his eyes widen in fear. "Elena, look out!" he pulls his sister to the side and they huddle behind the wood pile. The invention crashes into the door, and a red cloud of smoke poofs out of the basement. Elena and Jeremy emerge from the wreckage to find Klaus swinging on a loose spring.

"You guys gotta try this thing," Klaus tells him from where he bounces up and down on a loose string. Elena chuckles before she pulls him off.

**I'm really sorry I haven't been updating guys! I've been busy and just got back from vacation, but the next two chapters are already done, so I'll be posting them over the next few days. The epilogue is really just a cute 'Years Later' kind of thing. We see a little bit into a very special person's life in the castle. Please don't forget to review and tell me what you thought.**

**P.S. My thoughts and hearts go out to the people of Boston and all of those who have an injured loved one. We will never forget, but we will come back stronger for it. I hope that the remaining bomber is brought to justice and, hopefully, will not be set free to bomb anyone again.**


	11. The Transformation

Back at the castle, the attack continues. Meanwhile, Stefan has broken off from the mob, and is searching out the beast. Elena, Jeremy, Phillipe and Klaus are making their way to the castle. Finally, the invaders are chased out and the objects celebrate their victory.

"And stay out!" Jenna shouts. Jenna pulls over Alaric and kisses him once on each cheek. Alaric shakes it off, even though his clock face is red with a blush.

Stefan, who has broken off from the rest of the group to explore the castle, finds the beast's lair. He raises his crossbow and takes aim. The beast looks up at him but looks back down in sadness again. Stefan releases the arrow and it strikes the beast in the shoulder. He screams in pain and stands. The blond rushes him and they fly out the window onto the balcony, where it has begun to rain.

Stefan laughs cruelly. He corners the beast on the edge of the roof. The beast simply sits there in despair, not having the will to fight.

"Get up! Get up!" Stefan prods him with the tip of an arrow. "What's the matter, Beast? Too kind and gentle to fight back?" He tries to taunt the monster, but the beast looks down ignoring him. Stefan walks into the foreground and breaks off a piece of the roof.

He is about to smash it on the beast's head when Elena's voice drifts up. She is on the bridge and is yelling to Stefan, telling him to stop. "No!" she cries out over the rain and thunder. There are tears in her doe eyes, but the man and monster are two far away to see them.

Hear her voice seems to give the beast new life. "Elena," he breaths.

"Stefan, don't!" Elena's voice is the only warning the beast has of the other man's attack. Stefan swings down at the beast, but he catches the weapon in his hand. The beast rises up and roars in Stefan's face. They proceed through a fight on the rooftop. Finally, the beast takes a hiding place among the gargoyles in the darkness.

Meanwhile, Elena enters the castle on the ground. "Let's go, Phillipe!" she urges the horse on.

"Come on out and fight!" Stefan roars over the thunder as he stalks across the walkway with the statues. "Were you in love with her, beast?" He laughs loudly, shaking his head. "Did you honestly think she'd want you when she had someone like me?" The beast has been provoked enough. He emerges and they fight again.

"It's over, beast! Elena is mine!" Stefan's shout is almost deafening. This time, however, the beast picks up Stefan by the neck and holds him out over the edge of the roof. Stefan pleads with the beast. When he realizes that the beast could drop him at any moment, he pleads for his life. "Put me down. Put me down. Please, don't hurt me!" He looks like he's about to cry and the beast snorts. "I'll do anything! Anything!" The beast's anger slowly melts off his face, and the look of compassion returns. He pulls Stefan back onto the roof.

"Get out!" the creature snarls. He shoves Stefan to the ground. Above, Elena comes out on a balcony. Her brown hair is blowing around her face in the harsh wind, brown eyes watching him with so much care and concern in her eyes.

"Beast!" she calls out to him, a light shining in her eyes.

"Elena!" he breathes her name back to her. The beast begins to climb the tower, as if he is scaling the side of a building, until he reaches the balcony. He hangs over the side. "Elena? You came back!" His cerulean eyes shine with so much happiness and something Elena can't identify. She cups his cheek with delicate fingers, eyes boring passionately into his. Brown meets blue and the rest of the world becomes a haze.

* * *

But the moment is broken when Stefan sneaks up and stabs the beast in the back. The beast roars in pain, and Elena is helpless. Stefan pulls the knife out and swings back for another shot. The creature starts to fall, knocking Stefan off his balance. Elena reaches forward and pulls the beast back, while Stefan falls off never to be seen again. Elena helps the injured the beast up onto the balcony, where he lies down on the floor. The objects come rushing out, but stay out of sight.

"You came back," the beast's voice is rough with pain.

"Of course I came back," she smiles at him through watery eyes. "I couldn't let them...Oh this is all my fault. If only I'd gotten here sooner." She takes his paw-like hand in hers, cradling it between her hands.

"Maybe," his breathing stutters for a second, "it's better this way."

"Don't talk like that," she shakes her head, fighting back tears. "You'll be all right. We're together now. Everything's going to be fine." She smiles at him, even as a tear slides down her cheek. "You'll see."

"At least I got to see" the beast coughs, "you one..." his breathing begins to slow, "last...time." Elena pulls the beast's paw up to her cheek. He holds it there for a second, and then drops it. His head falls back, and his eyes close. Elena drops the paw and puts her hands to her mouth. She can't believe this has happened.

"No, no! Please! Please!" Elena begins to sob, hand still covering her mouth. She presses her face to his chest, fisting the material of his cape in her hands. "Please don't leave me!" She knows her pleading is useless, but she whispers into his chest, "I love you…" Her last words before she breaks down into violent sobbing are whispered into the darkness of the storm.

* * *

Behind her, the objects watch the last petal fall off the rose. They all look down at the floor, and Alaric puts his arm around Rebekah.

Elena continues to sob, clutching harder to the beast's clothes as he lays motionless beneath her shaking body. The rain continues to fall. But then a beam of light falls, like a shooting star. Then another comes. And another, and another. Elena finally notices what is happening. She stops crying for a second, and then starts to back away. A fog begins to enshroud the beast. The objects look on in extreme anticipation.

The beast rises up into the air magically and begins to turn. He is enveloped in a cloud of light, and becomes wrapped in his cloak. Underneath, we can see the beast's body shifting and forming. A fore paw comes out and the claws turn into fingers. A hind paw emerges and develops into a foot. Finally, a wind blows across his face and the fur melts away to reveal a young prince. His hair is as dark as a raven's wing and his skin is as pale as milk. He gradually descends and is laid on the floor again.

The fog disappears and Elena reaches out to touch him. She jerks her hand back, however, when the figure begins to move. It stands, looks at its hands, then turns to face Elena. It is a human, with the same blue eyes as the beast. It is obviously the beast, transformed, but Elena cannot imagine this beautiful god-like creature looking at her. Elena gives him a mysterious look, her brows furrowed as she tries to place the familiar eyes to someone she knows.

"Elena!" the prince's speech sounds almost like velvet and Elena blinks. "It's me, Damon!"

She continues to look at him skeptically, not recognizing the name, but then she sees the familiar cerulean eyes, and instantly knows it is him. She steps foreword and, after some hesitation, touches his cheek with delicate fingers. Her eyes widen as she takes in his kind eyes and beautiful face; she gaps as he leans into her touch. "It is you!" Her eyes widen as a single tear slides down her cheek and he chuckles, the sound rumbling across her ears. He cups her cheek in his own hand and pulls her toward him. His thumb wipes away the stray tear before his mouth dips down to cover hers.

A fireworks display explodes around them. The gloom surrounding the castle disappears, revealing a blue sky. The castle is transformed, with the gargoyles changing into cherubs. Finally, the light Elena brought with her is returned to the castle.

Back on the balcony, the objects hop out of the shadows to meet the prince and Elena. One by one, they are transformed back to their original human conditions. First is Alaric, who turns into a handsome middle aged man with a slight five o'clock shadow and a huge smile on his face. Beside him, a glow surrounds Jenna before she emerges as a bright-eyed strawberry blond. She throws her arms around Alaric and whispers, "I told you so," before she kisses him roughly on the lips. The prince laughs before another golden glow comes from his left and he turns around to find himself face to face with Rebekah. Her green eyes glow with their own happiness and her blond hair falls down her back in ringlets.

"Alaric! Jenna! Oh, Rebekah!" He grabs them and brings them all into a hug. "Look at us!" Rebekah pushes him off and shakes her head with a small chuckle, sweeping a strand of hair behind her ear.

Klaus, as a tea cup, comes riding in on the dog-like footstool. "Sissy! Sissy!" The pair transforms back into a boy and hunting dog.

Picking up her little brother, the blond hugs him to her chest. She looks between Elena and Prince Damon. "Oh my goodness!" she wipes a tear from her eyes and Klaus laughs happily. His hazel eyes sparkle in the sunlight surrounding the castle for the first time in years.

"It is a miracle!" Jenna cries out in happiness as she kisses Alaric again.

* * *

The prince picks up Elena and swings her around. The ruffles of her skirt wipe to the ballroom, where all are gathered to celebrate. Damon and Elena dance around the room, seeming to be lost in their own world. Standing on the side watching from one corner, Jenna and Alaric stand, both with smiles on their faces.

"Well, Jenna, old friend," he says in a teasing voice, eyes sparkling with hidden happiness. "Shall we let bygones be bygones?"

"Of course, mon ami," she smiles back at him; "I told you she would break the spell."

"I beg your pardon, Jen, but I believe I told you," always wanting to be right, Alaric argues.

"No you didn't," Jenna, equally as stubborn, shakes her head, "I told you."

"You most certainly did not, you pompous parrafin-headed pea-brain!"

The insults mean nothing, but Jenna giggles as she retorts, "En garde, you overgrown pocket watch!" She launches herself at him and, instead of hurting him for insulting her; she kisses him with all she has.

Damon, seeing his two lead servants kissing in the corner, rolls his eyes. Elena giggles as he whispers something in her ear as they continue to dance.

In yet another corner of the room stands Rebekah, Jeremy, and Klaus. Rebekah smiles kindly at the brother of the woman that saved all of their lives. Jeremy sniffles, trying to stay manly as he wipes away his tears. Rebekah offers him a handkerchief with a smile.

Klaus looks up at his sister with eager wide eyes. "Are they gonna live happily ever after, Bekah?"

"Of course, my dear," Rebekah ruffles his hair. "Of course."

Klaus looks happy for a moment before his face turns down into a puzzled expression. "Do I still have to sleep in the cupboard?" he asks, his eyes wide again. Both Jeremy and Rebekah laugh before the young woman hugs her brother. They watch as Jenna pulls Alaric onto the dance floor and won't let him walk off, no matter how much he begs and pleads with her. Elena's tinkling laughter rings through Damon's ears before he pulls her to him in an intimate kiss.

**But wait, that's not all! Next chapter we will be peaking in on our couple. Please review and tell me what you thought. Thank you so much for reading.**


	12. A Few Years Later

Years later, a young girl with long brown curls points up at the newest stained glass window in the castle, her cerulean eyes wide. "Mama…" she points up to the stained glass woman in the yellow dress, the same one that hangs in her own mother's closet that she's hidden under many times during a game of 'Find Katherine'. She points up to the other image in the stained glass representation of the beginning of her parent's relationship. "Dada…" She giggles and shakes her head, curls bouncing, as she looks up at the image of her father in a suit.

"Kit Kat, where are you?" a velvety voice comes from around the bend and the three-year-old squeals and races around yet another corner, almost bumping into the man she's trying to run away from. "Hello, Kat." She giggles and the man picks her up; she wraps her arms around his neck as he spins around.

"Chip," she uses her nickname for him and bites her pointer finger, trying to hold back another smile.

"Why did Jenna think it was a good idea to call me that?" he growls before he spins her around again, making her squeal. "It is your bedtime, princess, so let's go say goodnight to your parents before we put you to sleep." She nods her head and holds on tight as he brings her to the library. By the time they walk across the large castle, her eyelids drooping. The man holding her chuckles as he slips into the library.

"Mrs. Elena," he knocks on the door before entering the larger than life library. Sitting in a comfy chair near the roaring fire, sit a young woman with straight brown hair and a young man with hair as dark as a raven's wing. "Master Damon." In a corner of the library is a tall Christmas tree with all different sorts of ornaments hanging from the branches. The most special, however, are ones that were custom made to look like each individual servant in their object form.

"Come in, Klaus," the woman, Elena, smiles at him, holding out a hand. Beside her, the man smiles before he continues to read. "To what do we owe this pleasure?"

Before the teenager could speak, the child in his arms leaps at her mother with a squeal. "Mama!" Elena catches her and laughs when her daughter buries her face in the crook of her neck. "Mama, don't wanna go sleep!" Beside the two, Damon chuckles and reaches over to run a hand through his daughter's hair.

"It's way past your bedtime, KitKat," he rubs a thumb over her warm cheek. "We let you stay up late because it's Christmas," he tells her, "but if you don't go to sleep, then Santa won't come give you presents." Elena smiles at the man, her heart almost bursting with joy at how far he's come from that awful beast she met at the beginning of her adventure.

"Give mommy and daddy a kiss and then Klaus will put you to sleep," Elena nods at the teenager. He smiles back at her and leaves to give the family a few minutes alone.

Most of the castle's servants, like Jenna, Klaus, and Alaric, have stayed with them, even after all these years. Eventually, Jeremy married Bonnie, who used to be a maid, and they moved back into the Gilbert townhouse. Jenna and Alaric had a splendid wedding, courtesy of Damon, and now happily resided in the East Wing of the palace. Klaus went to school in town and came home every evening to take care of Katherine; Elena made sure he was being paid for his help. Klaus' older sister, Rebekah, eventually moved on to become a very famous children's author; most of her books were about magical or enchanted objects and their adventures around a haunted castle. Katherine loves every one of them.

"Goodnight, Daddy," Katherine reaches sleepily over to wrap her arms around her father's shoulders. He chuckles and presses a kiss to her forehead.

"Goodnight, KitKat," he whispers in her ear.

The young girl turns to her mother and falls against her breast, a sleepy grin on her face. "'Night, Mama," she says through a yawn. "Love you…" She puts her thumb in her mouth and falls asleep against Elena's chest, her breathing even. When Klaus comes back into the room, he finds all three fast asleep on the couch, and smiles.

_Certain as the sun_

_Rising in the east_

_Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme_

_Beauty and the beast!_

_Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme_

_Beauty and the beast!_

**Just a cute little ending to this story. Tell me what you thought! Aladdin is coming up next! The first chapter will probably be out next Monday at the latest, Friday at the earliest. I'm so excited to write that one because it focuses more on Damon (in a better light than on the show). Hopefully Hercules will be almost the same.  
**


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